


Love and Hate

by elle_chappell



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Angst and Porn, Angst and Romance, Armitage Hux - Freeform, Armitage Hux Being An Asshole, Armitage Hux Has Feelings, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Dirty Talk, Dominant Armitage Hux, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fanfiction, Flirting, Hate to Love, Heavy Angst, Love/Hate, Masturbation, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Power Play, Public Masturbation, Reader-Insert, Shameless Smut, Slow Burn, Teasing, Vaginal Fingering, Workplace Relationship, reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:27:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 93,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24586855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elle_chappell/pseuds/elle_chappell
Summary: Years ago Hux stole the job that should have been rightfully yours. You havent seen him in years until Starkiller is destroyed and you are suddenly on the same ship again.You want to show him that he will never have authority over you and he wants to show you that he does. But as the power plays between you continue they start to rekindle something neither of you want to address.
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Reader, Armitage Hux & You, Armitage Hux/Reader, Armitage Hux/You, Dopheld Mitaka/Reader, General Hux/Reader, Kylo Ren/Reader, Kylo Ren/You
Comments: 96
Kudos: 277





	1. Insufferable

You have been a lieutenant in the First Order for a little over a year now, you were promoted just after the destruction of Starkiller base, although you should have been promoted long before that. Around three years ago both you and Armitage Hux were up for the same promotion, the two of you went through the academy and joined the First Order at the same time. You were both on the same level in terms of intellect and experience. However, you weren’t made aware that killing your own father was apparently the only way to get a promotion around here, you had noticed there seemed to be an unusual amount of patricide going on throughout the First Order recently. It had all happened so quickly, one minute you’re both up for promotion the next you are being forcibly transferred to another imperial vessel in the most distant of star systems. It was only after you were sent away that you heard Hux had killed his own father and assumed the rank of general. And you _knew_ that Hux had been behind it all, he just wanted you out of the picture. So while Hux had spent the last years on Starkiller working on the weapon and re-working the stormtrooper programme you had been stuck working navigations in the furthest point of the galaxy.

But during your time away you worked your way up, impressing all your higher ups like you knew you could until you were eventually transferred to the Finalizer as a lieutenant. Now, since the destruction of Starkiller base, Hux was coming back to the Finalizer for good. All these years you had been harbouring pure unbridled hatred towards the man for stealing your job and your future. You were sure Starkiller would not have been destroyed if you were the General and you knew you would be able to manage Kylo Ren more effectively.

You strode confidently down the corridor towards the bridge where you and your team worked. Lieutenant Mitaka appeared beside you, matching your stride.

“He’s here” he said quietly enough for only you to hear. You and Mitaka got on well, not dislike how you and Hux _used_ to get on when you worked together, you worked effectively with one another. Sometimes you would spend what little spare time you had in one another’s quarters, mainly discussing the shortcomings of other officers and how you could do their jobs better. But you also occasionally spoke on personal matters, so you told him about your history with Hux, not everything, but enough. He seemed to sympathise with the burning injustice you felt at the whole situation.

“Good” you reply, but you were lying. As much as you wanted him to see you and how you had still managed to progress despite his best efforts you were also nervous, but you couldn’t let him see that.

You and Mitaka rounded the corner into the bridge to immediately take up your positions. You head over the walkway, between the two pits full of more workstations and officers, towards the large windows where you and your team worked at a small bank of screens. You begin working on the fuel calculations and costs needed before the Finalizer could re-fuel.

“Officer L/N” comes a raised commanding voice from behind you. You ignore the voice, keeping your eyes fixed on the screen in front of you.

“Officer L/N” the voice repeats but you ignore again, genuinely not registering the request being aimed at you.

“L/N!” they now shout. The hum usually present in the bridge dissipates entirely as eyes turn over to you. You turn around to see _him_. In the years since you had seen him, he had somehow become even more uptight in his appearance. But he had grown into his looks and as much as you hated to admit it, he did look _commanding_ in that coat. He was staring directly at you, his lips pressed together in a thin line.

“It’s _Lieutenant_ L/N” you spit back at him with a clenched jaw. This dickhead was already testing you, wanting to assert his power over you immediately. But you weren’t going to let him, yes, he might have a higher rank, but you knew you were always more qualified for the position and you knew he knew that too. He clenched his jaw at your insubordination. His eyes glanced to the sides briefly, registering everyone on the bridge watching.

“GET BACK TO WORK!” he yelled before returning his attention back to you. He took a step closer to you and used a lower volume,

“I could write you up for insubordination”

“I’d like to see you try” you retort with defiance as you also take a step towards him.

The proximity between you both was reminding you of old times, rekindling something that lay deep within you. You and Hux had once, okay maybe twice, shared a bed together. But any feelings you once had towards him are definitely gone now. Definitely. A pause lingered between the two of you for a moment before you finally speak up,

“So was there a reason you needed me… some advice perhaps on how not to destroy one of the First Order’s greatest assets?” you trailed off, voice dripping with sarcasm. Hux’s face was beginning to distort with anger. Obviously, he hadn’t been used to anyone speaking to him like this, they must have all kissed his ass back on Starkiller. Hux began to clench his jaw, lifting his chin slightly trying to get that extra bit of height over you, his nostrils flared. You recognised this little suite of body language; he was about to give in to his anger and cuss you out in front of everyone. Wanting to beat him to it you lean in a little closer to him,

“You look tired Huxie, are you getting enough sleep. You know you can’t make effective decisions if you’re sleep deprived”. You knew this would press all his buttons. He hated when you used to call him by that stupid nickname and he especially hated when people told him to get more sleep. He somehow convinced himself that sleep or rest was only for the weak and judging by his reaction that was still the case. You held your gaze on his face, analysing all the slight micro movements dancing across his features.

You knew you may have pushed it too far now, but you just couldn’t help yourself, he was just so easy to wind up. You didn’t notice his gloved hand reach to wrap around your forearm, violently pulling you closer to his tall form. You were forced to take a step forward to steady your balance, you tried desperately to pull your arm from his grasp, but he was unrelenting. The smug smile that had been plastered across your face faltered slightly at the proximity between you and the uncertainty of what he may do next.

Hux dropped his head slightly to whisper down to you with a husky voice. A cocky smile was forming across his face as he considered his words,

“You may have been a hot shot lieutenant here before…”, he tightens his grasp on your forearm further, “but daddy’s back now”. You let out a small snort through your nose at his words whilst also discretely rubbing your thighs together to relieve a building pressure between your legs, but you weren’t ready to address whatever that was about yet.

You canter your head towards him slightly, “Ahhhh yes… I heard Kylo Ren had just returned from a mission”.

Hux’s face dropped, his eyes narrowed like lasers burning right through you, his brows furrowed,

“How dare y-“

“HUX!” interjected a synthetic voice across the bridge. Neither of you needed to look over to know it was Ren. Hux rolled his eyes, dropping your arm but remaining where he stood.

“Daddy’s calling”, you smiled back at him. You knew this whole interaction would somehow end with you being reprimanded but you didn’t care, it was worth it. The first time you had seen him in years since he stole what was rightfully yours and you showed him that you would not be inferior to him. You continued to smile back at him while his eyes were still burning through you, there was a slight twitch of his lips before he finally spun around on his heels to march over to Ren. His stupid coat flurrying behind him as he went.

You let out a breath as you watch him walk away, the pressure between your legs relieving slightly. You notice Mitaka looking over you with a questioning expression across his face, you give him a wink to signify you were okay. Mitaka looked back down at his screen with a small smile at your silent communication.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HUX POV

Hux was marching down the corridors back to his office, the conversations he had on the bridge replaying in his mind. Ren was acting like a brat again, wanting more troopers and resources to chase that scavenger scum halfway across the galaxy. The Finalizer was _his_ ship and now he not only has Ren treating him like shit but a cocky lieutenant who thinks she’s better than him. Hux started to unconsciously clench and unclench his fists behind his back as continued to his office.

He entered his office making his way behind the black glossy desk before slumping himself into the black leather chair. He leant back into the chair pulling off his gloves as he let out a long sigh before swivelling the chair to look out of the window behind his desk. Why does everything have to be so difficult he thought to himself, if he were in charge the First Order would be a well-oiled machine ruling the galaxy by now.

As he stared into the black abyss of space all he could think about was Y/N. Like a parasite invading his mind, all he could think about was the way she looked, the way she sounded, her confidence. He didn’t exactly know what he had been expecting from her after all these years, but it wasn’t… _that_. Replaying the conversation he had with her in his head his anger began to bubble up again. She had this way of pressing all his buttons, she always did, and it drove him wild.

“That insufferable woman” he whispered to himself letting out another sigh. He looked down at his crotch, letting out another sigh, almost angry with himself, before quickly unbuttoning his trousers and pulling his zipper down, he was already hard just from thinking about her.

Hux took himself in his hand and began to slowly pump himself, letting out small moans. Images of Y/N continually flashing in his mind,

“Insufferable” he whispered again as he began to pick up his pace. Hux cast his mind back to those couple of nights you shared years ago, trying to remember exactly how you looked without your clothes and the way you felt against him. He let out another moan at the memory.

Despite having faint remnants of those memories, todays interaction seemed much more arousing to him as it continued to invade his mind. The way his large hand clutched around the entirety of your forearm and how his cock twitched slightly as you pulled against him. The way your bodies had been so close to touching and how his pulse had quickened at the proximity. The way you both leant in letting warm air ghost the others face as you taunted each other and how your words had sent a shiver up his spine, one in particular. Another suppressed moan made its way past his lips, he scrunched his eyes shut at the building pleasure, he was so close now, his cock twitching under his touch. He thought back to that one word, he pictured your lips moving as you said it, ‘daddy’, he let out a louder moan as white ropes escaped his tip.

Hux breathed heavily, continuing to pump himself through his release. Finally letting go of his softening cock, he looked down letting out a heavy sigh through his parted lips, lucky he kept several spare uniforms in his office. Hux stood to make his way over to the adjacent refresher. He took a cloth to clean himself before retrieving a spare set of trousers. As Hux redressed himself he caught sight of himself in the mirror, an unfamiliar feeling of shame flooded his body as he stared back at his reflection.

Hux knew he had let Y/N get to him. He cursed himself at how easily she had managed to do it too. And him just relieving himself in his office, in the middle of the day, was her getting to him again, though he was grateful she would never know about that.

Hux stared at his reflection, removing any trace of emotion from his face. _This will not happen again_ he told his reflection. He pulled a comb through his hair to ensure there were no strands out of place. Happy he had recomposed himself, Hux strode out of his office and back to the bridge with a new sense of determination and impenetrability.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOUR POV

The giddy happiness you got from that first interaction with Hux did wonders for your mood the next couple of days. He’d managed to avoid you since though. The only contact coming from a couple of messages. The first was, predictably, giving you a warning.

_Officer F/N L/N,_

_This message serves as a formal warning from the First Order for your insubordinate conduct towards an officer of higher rank. This warning will remain on your file throughout your employment with the First Order._

_General Hux_

It’s lieutenant _not_ officer was your first thought at reading the message. You rolled your eyes the more you read it; he was being petty but then again, he probably has to do something to protect his pride. You smile to yourself as you imagine Hux seething to himself in his office. His next message was at least about work,

_Officer F/N L/N,_

_Supreme Leader Snoke has approved a mission for Kylo Ren to seek out the scavenger girl. Ren requires flight plans for the Nexlus System, including research on planets of interest, re-fuelling locations and potential threats. Prepare your work for presentation at a meeting with myself, Ren and Phasma._

_The meeting is at 1400 tomorrow, in the supreme council meeting room._

_General Hux_

Again, it’s _lieutenant_. Maybe you had let your cockiness get to your head a little, but you shot him back a message straight away,

_General Hux,_

_As you are well aware, it is Lieutenant L/N. Address me as such in future correspondence._

_Lieutenant L/N_

You sent the message back, feeling pleased with yourself before starting with the work required from you.

It was the end of your shift and you still hadn’t heard anything back from Hux, not even another official warning. The cockiness you had felt earlier started to falter, you knew that would have annoyed him and that usually he would have replied immediately. Yet you had nothing from him, maybe you didn’t know him as well as you thought you did. But just in case it couldn’t hurt to come in early tomorrow to double and triple check your work if he was on the warpath with you.

The next day you stride confidently into the bridge and head straight for your workstation and monitor. You print the research on the planets of interest, possible threats and re-fuelling locations along with fuel requirements and cost projections. You also prepare a three-dimensional projection of the Nexlus system to show the flight plans. Mitaka appeared next to you as you stared at the screen,

“I’ve just seen the General… he looked angry” he trailed off. You keep your eyes fixed on the screen, letting out a small snort.

“Mitaka… it’s Hux, he’s permanently got a stick up his ass… that’s why his face always looks like that”. Mitaka let out a small chuckle,

“Yeah… you’ve got a point”

“Ugh I hate him” you grumble as you gather your printed documents.

“Careful, there’s a fine line between love and hate” Mitaka chuckled back at you. You snap your eyes away from the gathered documents and up to him.

“What’s that supposed to mean” you practically spit back at him. Mitaka’s smile began to fade from his face, a look of confusion replacing it,

“It was just a joke L/N”

You huff, “I don’t have time for this Mitaka” you reply dismissively before marching out of the bridge.

As you marched through the corridors your anger was building, but you didn’t understand why. You knew Mitaka had only been making a joke, a bad one, but a joke nonetheless and there’s no way he could have known what actually happened between you and Hux. Was it embarrassment that you and Hux had a _thing_ years ago? All of your questions were swirling around in your mind, consuming your attention. As you reach the door of the meeting room you let out a sigh. _Concentrate_ you tell yourself. You can’t afford to be distracted in front of him.

You enter the darkened meeting room to find Ren sat at the head of the long matte black conference table. Phasma was to his left and Hux sat to his right, you opted to take the seat next to Phasma.

“Now we’re all _here_ ”, Hux emphasised the ‘here’ while snapping his attention over to you. You smile sarcastically back at him. “Phasma could you report on stormtrooper requirements for the mission?” he continued. Phasma began reeling off information on the number of stormtroopers she had allocated for Ren’s mission and all their training etc. Her words melted into your subconscious, the insinuation made by Mitaka invading your mind again, as you stare at the man opposite you. His usually pale skin was cast with a blue light from the holoprojector, outlining the sharp features of his face but not detracting from his bright flame coloured hair. Hux suddenly snapped his eyes up from his datapad catching you staring at him, he let a small devilish smile pull at his lips. You held his gaze, not wanting to look guilty by immediately looking away, you could hear your heartbeat in your ears from panic at him catching you. You gulp heavily before finally ripping your eyes away from him and down at the table in front of you. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck_ was all that was swirling around your head.

You registered that Phasma had stopped talking. Ren broke the silence,

“And what are the flight plans”. You look up to the masked man before standing and pulling up the Nexlus System on the holoprojector. A red line tracing its way between different the different projected planets. You clear your throat,

“So I’ve-

“Lieutenant” Ren interjected; you turn to look at him again. “This is the Nexlus System” he continued, no emotion in his voice to indicate where he was going.

“Yes Sir” you reply confidently.

“The mission… is through the Chlora System”, this time you could hear an undertone of disdain. You glance over to Hux, that devilish smile still present and some undeterminable glint in his eyes. Then you realised. That ginger fuck had given you the wrong system. That’s why he didn’t reply to your snarky message, he was planning to humiliate you in front of the highest-ranking officers in the Order. You kept your eyes on Hux as these revelations swirled in your mind,

“My apologies Sir, I was informed a flight plan was required through the Nexlus System”

“L/N… don’t try to blame your errors on others” Hux spat back as he quickly rose to his feet.

“I don’t know how you got to your current position, but I can assure you that glaring mistakes such as these will not be accepted on _my_ ship!” Hux now shouted.

A silence fell over the room, the only audible sound coming from the rising and falling chests of you and the General as you both breathed heavily. As you and Hux continued to stare at each other Phasma and Ren just moved their heads between you and Hux trying to figure out what exactly was going on between you. Hux noticing this, clenched his jaw and returned his hands behind his back,

“A word outside L/N” he said calmly having composed himself. He rounded the table towards the door, and you followed behind, eyes fixed on the ground from embarrassment.

As soon as the conference door closed behind you Hux had his gloved hand around your neck pushing you against the wall. You let out a small grunt as your head hits the black tiled wall behind you. His large hand covered nearly the whole of your neck; he constricted your airway but not enough to make you think you were in any real danger. His fingertips twitched slightly as he held you against the wall, you force a smile to let him know you weren’t scared.

Hux pressed his body into you, you felt sure he must have been able to feel your heart racing against his own chest. He positioned his other hand up against the wall next to your head. He cocked his head as he looked at you, a small upturn of the corners of his lips,

“You used to like it when I held you like this” he said smugly. You try cocking your head forward against his grip on your neck,

“I hate you” you hiss through clenched teeth. Hux lets out a quiet smirk before repositioning his head next to your cheek, a few strands of his hair tickling your sensitive skin, to talk directly into your ear,

“And you think you should have got my job… you don’t even know when you’re being deceived” he said lowly. You let out another grunt as you try to pull yourself out from under him.

“I _know_ that promotion was mine!” you spit back defiantly. He starts tutting at you, bringing his other gloved hand up to your temple before lightly tracing it down your cheek, leaving a tingling sensation dancing across your skin in its trail. You rub your thighs together.

“Oh Y/N… you think you’re so clever, don’t you?” he whispers into your ear. “But you know nothing. You’ll never be a general as long as I’m here. Even if you did have the experience and intellect”, his eyes raked over your body before returning to your face, “I would do everything in my power to stop it”.

“Like you did last time? Sending me to the furthest part of the galaxy just so I wouldn’t be a threat to you? I see you still haven’t grown any balls” you breathe out. Hux tightens his grip around your neck, the leather around his knuckles squeaking as he did so,

“Be a good girl Y/N…” he whispers into your ear before pulling away to drill his eyes into yours “and watch your mouth” he enunciated every word, small droplets of his spit spraying your face. Without warning he retracts his hand and body from yours before storming back into the conference room. You collapse against the wall, your body suddenly feeling cold, a hand clutching your neck as you cough while also trying to catch your breath. You quickly get to your feet, not wanting any passing officers or troopers to see you on the floor. 

You begin marching down the corridor, not knowing exactly where you were going, insulting Hux in every which way you could under your breath,

“That ginger bastard, that pale anaemic looking gingerbread man. Fuck, he’s such a dick”. You pass a non-descript looking door which you know leads to a storage room. You back up slightly considering the door a little longer before swiftly entering and leaning against the door as you close it behind you.

“That fucking man” you whisper. You slip a hand under the waistband of your trousers and underwear to your bare mound. You were already so wet, your underwear soaked through,

“Fuck” you whisper again, half from disgust with yourself and half from the growing pleasure as you touch yourself. You begin teasing your bundle of nerves and slipping further between your folds, you let out another small moan.

You remember the feeling of his hand stretched across your entire throat and his fingers twitching against your skin, how it sent a shiver up your spine, you start quickening the pace of your fingers against your clit. Then you remember the way he leant his body into yours, you slip two fingers in your entrance while keeping your thumb rubbing around your clit. You remember the feeling of his heavy warm body pushing against you and how it made your heart race, you pump your fingers quicker at the thought as your walls begin to pulse. You close your eyes to picture how close his pink lips were to your face and how you secretly wanted him to invade your mouth was his tongue, panting through parted lips, you send yourself over the edge with one final drawn out moan, walls clamping around your fingers.

“Fuck” you whisper for the umpteenth time today through your panting. You remove your hand and quickly look for something in the storage room to wipe your fluids away. Finding some scrap paper you clean your fingers before smoothing your hands over your hair, making sure nothing was out of place before exiting the storage room.

Composing yourself by standing straight and clearing your throat you whip open the door and begin to march down the corridors as you usually did, with an air of confidence surrounding you, you hoped anyway.


	2. Decisions

You walk down the First Order corridors with a slight spring in your step, having just relieved some pent-up tension in the storage room. Instead of heading straight back to your quarters to wallow in embarrassment, you head for the bridge. Feeling a new sense of determination flood your body, you decide that the best way you could get back at him was to do your job well.

You head to the bridge to start work on the _correct_ system this time; you’d give them to Ren direct. You were already familiar with the Chlora system, and it should only include some slight re-calculations in terms of fuel use and expense.

You round the corner into the bridge when you see Mitaka, his face focussed on a monitor as he worked. A feeling of guilt begins to seep through you, you had been slightly harsh earlier. You sidle up next to him, speaking quietly,

“I’m sorry about earlier. I was out of order. Hux just has this way of-“, you let out a deep sigh, “-winding me up”

Mitaka considers your words for a moment, eyes still fixed on the monitor, he matches your quiet tone.

“That’s alright… as long as you’re on the hate side of that thin line” he smiled.

“After that meeting… believe me… its hate” you breathe back. Mitaka looked up to you waiting for more information. You place a hand on his upper arm,

“I’ll fill you in later” you say with a forced smile, eyebrows raised. Mitaka nods in response as you make your way over to your workstation.

For the rest of the day you try to zone out the buzz of activity going on behind you, only the occasional barks from Hux as he asserts his authority over the bridge breaking your concentration. “Your incompetence is astounding!”, “Send them to reconditioning!”, “You fool”, you roll your eyes at every one his remarks. You double check one more fuel calculation before letting out a long sigh. It took a bit longer than you thought, it was now two hours after your shift, only a skeleton crew remaining for the night shift. You print all the documents before gathering them to leave.

Ren did apparently have an office, though you doubted he even knew where it was, so you take a chance by heading straight to his quarters. You knew roughly where they were, a couple of floors above your own, where the highest-ranking officers resided. You exit the turbolift into a corridor much quieter than any other on the Finalizer, it was eerily silent for such a busy ship. You take tentative steps along the corridor, investigating each name on the datapads next to the doors. You see ‘A. Hux’ and immediately feel your blood start to boil as the day’s earlier events flashed across your mind again. You keep walking, eventually finding ‘K. Ren’, you approach the door pressing the ‘call’ button on the pad.

An unfamiliar voice comes through the small speaker,

“Who is it?”

You pause a moment in confusion, not recognising the voice,

“Uhh it’s lieutenant L/N, I’ve come to deliver flight plans for the Chlora system”.

There was another pause, just silence, before the door suddenly whirred open. The sudden noise made you jump back slightly. You promptly recompose yourself, using your free hand to smooth down your uniform and make sure there were no lose strands of hair. Just before you step over the threshold into his quarters you remind yourself to keep your mind well-guarded, quite literally the last thing you needed was Ren nosing around and seeing what you did earlier.

You walk through a black tiled corridor which opened into a large living area. Three black leather sofas were in the centre, a nice kitchen and dining area further back in the room and a massive floor-to-ceiling window. You walk in further, but Ren didn’t show himself.

“Hello? Sir?”, still no reply. You walk over to the massive window, a view of the galaxy never failed to amaze you, no matter how many times you saw it.

“Lieutenant L/N?” came that unfamiliar voice again from behind. You quickly spin around.

Your breath caught in your throat upon seeing the tall broad frame of a man leaning against an archway to an adjacent room. That’s why the voice was unfamiliar, he didn’t have his mask. You saw his face once before, years ago but he had a scar now, blazoned across the right side of his face, but it didn’t detract from his looks. He’d let his hair grow out too, the dark wavy locks nearly at his shoulders, it suited him. Realising that you had been staring maybe a tad too long you break the silence,

“Uhhh I’ve come to deliver the flight plans sir” you say holding up the documents as you walk over to him. He takes the documents, heading over to one of the sofas, before he sits down, he looks back at you gesturing to the other sofa,

“Take a seat”

“Yes sir”

You shuffle over to the sofa taking a seat, placing your hands on top of your thighs. Ren begins thumbing through the documents, you didn’t think he _actually_ looked at any of this stuff. In the growing silence your mind returns to the conference room,

“I apologise for earlier sir. I was unprofessional and I can ensure you it will _not_ happen again”

Ren let out a snort through his nose, dragging his eyes up to you,

“At ease lieutenant”, you furrow your brows in confusion. A slight smile formed across his lips as he returned his eyes to the documents,

“I am strong with the force, but I didn’t need it today to sense the cockiness coming from General Hux. I know it was him who misled you”. Your brows raise slightly at the admission, but you remain professional,

“Nonetheless sir, it won’t happen again” you say with a sense of determination as if you were convincing yourself as well as Ren.

“So you have history with him?”

Ren kept his attention on the documents, but you could tell this was only for show and he was in fact much more interested in what you had to say.

You play dumb, “Sir?”

“Well I know General Hux doesn’t exactly have any friends… but he also doesn’t take such an active disliking to people so quickly”, his eyes flicker up to examine your reaction. You try to keep your face clear of emotions and mind guarded.

“You could say we have history”, Ren raised his eyebrows at you, silently asking for more details. Feeling as though you couldn’t refuse, you clench your hands together in your lap, but you hold back.

“You can speak freely lieutenant” he says with a small nod and almost imperceptible smile, anticipating what you may divulge. You let out an audible breath at his permission,

“I used to know him… now I hate him… and that’s about it… that’s the history” you say with a shrug of your shoulders.

Ren held a small smile, but something about it made you deeply uncomfortable. He carefully puts the documents down on the sofa next to him before stalking over to you, sitting on the opposite end of the sofa you were on.

“In my experience there’s not always that much difference between love and hate”, Ren’s voice was heavily laced with mischief. You couldn’t help but break your emotionless face to roll your eyes at his words. Looking down into your lap you whisper, shaking your head side to side,

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Both are fuelled by passion and emotion” he says with a deadpan tone, his darkened eyes burrowing into you.

You look up to meet his gaze,

“I had no idea you were so profound sir” you reply with a sarcastic tone and smile. Ren kept his mischievous grin and eyes focussed on you as he slid along the sofa, you watch him cautiously. Growing increasingly uncomfortable as he closed the gap between you. Wanting to cut through the now heavy atmosphere you speak up,

“I can assure you it’s hate” you say with confidence before turning your gaze to the ground and speaking more softly, “I thought he was someone I could trust… but he betrayed me… and then sent me to the other side of the galaxy”, tears started to pool in your eyes as you remembered the abandonment you felt, you clear your throat swallowing down your emotion and return your eyes to Ren, “it’s definitely hate” you practically spit now. A single tear escaping to slowly roll down your face.

Ren’s expression had changed, his smile gone, lips a straight-line conveying nothing. But his eyes were somehow sympathetic, like he knew what you felt. He carefully brought a leather hand up to your face, delicately collecting the fallen tear on a fingertip before bringing it closer to his face and inspecting it.

Ren then rubs the tear between his fingertips, looking back at you,

“You need to let the past die… kill it. You’ll have no future as long as you fixate on the past”, his tone seemed darker again now.

You feel taken aback by his words and try to stammer something out,

“What? No it’s just-

“Come with me” Ren cuts you off mid-sentence.

“What?” you breathe out.

“Come with me on my mission… I don’t know how long it will be, but I need a good navigator to help me track the scavenger”

All you could do was stare back in surprise. Kylo Ren was asking for _you_ to go with _him_ on a mission for that bloody scavenger, he was obsessed. Plus, spending all that time with Ren? You were First Order through and through, representing protocol and order whereas Ren was childish, unbalanced and a liability. Then again, he did seem _different_ with you right now. Maybe he was more like this when he was away from the higher-ups of the Order, you could maybe deal with this version of him. But then, like the persistent weed he was, the thought of Hux began to creep through your mind. You realised, if you left now it would be like you were running away from him.

You were pulled from your thoughts when Ren placed one of his large hands over yours, his hand so large it almost completely covered both of your own.

“You’ve been staring at me for two minutes straight”.

You had been so engrossed in your thoughts you hadn’t even noticed. You gulp,

“Oh”

“I leave in two days, consider it”, he removes his hand and you stand, he quickly follows.

“Uhhh okay”, your voice resembling pure confusion. You start to turn and head towards the door when you’re stopped by Ren’s hand grabbing one of your own and clasping it tightly. You turn back to see him staring down at you, your heart instantly starts racing threatening to burst through your ribcage,

“For what it’s worth… I want you to come” Ren spoke softly keeping his eyes fixed on yours. Your own eyes flickering up between his hand and his face. Words were not something your brain was able to form at this point, so you simply nod in acknowledgment. He eases his grip on your hand, you use the opportunity to quickly spin around and powerwalk out of there.

The door to his quarters shuts behind you, you took a moment to just lean against the door. Your heavy breathing made you notice only now how suffocating it was in there with him. You were so concerned with getting oxygen into your lungs you didn’t notice a figure walking down the corridor, suddenly stopping dead in their tracks. You look up having noticed this change of behaviour in your periphery.

You immediately roll your eyes with a small groan when you see the perfectly styled red hair of Hux. Hunched over, hands on your knees, still partially leaning into Ren’s door, you keep your eyes on the ground,

“What”, a breath, “are you”, another breath, “staring at?”, you look up at him. His lips were pulled into a straight line, twitching slightly,

“These aren’t your quarters L/N”

To most, his voice would sound controlled and commanding. But you _knew_ him, you recognised that almost imperceptible quiver in his voice, signalling his distress at seeing you outside another man’s quarters.

You finally push yourself up to full height with another grunt, your breathing finally under control. You walk towards him, his eyes tracking you as you did so, until you were shoulder to shoulder, your upper arms lightly grazing through your uniforms. You canter your head up towards him while his green serpent eyes remained fixed on you,

“What? Are you jealous?” you whisper with a devious smile. Hux’s face contorted into disdain, faint lines appearing in his forehead as his brows furrowed. You smile back at his uncomfortableness before continuing down the corridor towards the lift. Just before you entered the lift you look back once more, Hux hadn’t moved but his head was twisted over his shoulder to watch you leave, you enter the lift.

Finally reaching your quarters you collapse into your bed, staring up at the ceiling your mind was spinning with recent events. You started to wonder about Ren’s proposal. Would it really be that bad if you went? It’s not like you’d be gone forever, you’d return, and you’d still be a lieutenant. If anything, going with Ren could be good for your job prospects, he was Snoke’s apprentice after all. And judging by Hux’s reaction in the corridor it would definitely piss him off, which was always an added bonus. But the more you convince yourself the more you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were running away. How could you be so upset about Hux sending you away before if you were only going to run away now? No. You’d decided, you were staying.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You wake up at 5:30, you’re circadian rhythm well trained to your First Order schedule, you had an hour before you had to be on the bridge and a standing breakfast with Mitaka at 5:50. You swiftly change into a fresh uniform and pull your hair into a tidy ponytail.

The mess hall for lieutenant’s and higher-ranking officers was situated on a level halfway between the levels their quarters were on. Making your way in you see Mitaka already sat at a table with a bowl of something resembling porridge. You swiftly pick up a black coffee and bowl before sitting opposite him. His face lit up when he saw you, he was one of those insufferably positive people first thing in the morning.

“Morning!” he exclaimed before putting a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. You greet him with a grunt. He was used to your pre-coffee morning moods by now.

“I waited up for you last night, I thought you were going to catch me up on that meeting”

“Oh shit, sorry! Yesterday was a pretty weird day…” you trail off

“Oh?”

“Yeah… Hux was a dick in the meeting of course”

“Of course” Mitaka repeated in confirmation.

“Anyway, I had to do some more work, which I took to Ren”, Mitaka nodded his head as you went on with your story, “and then… and then he asked me to go on a mission with him”. Mitaka stopped nodding to stare at you, trying to figure out if you were joking or not. He put his spoon back in the bowl,

“So Ren… Kylo Ren… Commander Ren of the First Order Ren… personally asked you to accompany him on a mission?”, you nod in confirmation. Mitaka’s eyes widened at your silent confirmation, “what did you say?”

“Nothing, I said nothing” you reply almost defensively. “He just said to think about it” you continue with a shrug of your shoulders.

“Shit… what are you going to do?”, you considered Mitaka’s question for a split-second before your attention was pulled by General Hux entering the mess hall with a female officer. They were talking with one another as they passed through the serving line. You didn’t think Hux even ate breakfast, let alone take time out of his day to spend it with someone else. The woman had blonde hair pulled back into a bun and practically illuminous skin, how the hell does she have skin like that on a ship with no natural light? They continue their discussion on the way to a table when you saw Hux almost smile. He’s smiling now! You catch yourself in your thoughts for a moment, a blush creeping up the sides of your cheeks at the realisation you _might_ care about him who he spends his time with.

“L/N?”, Mitaka shakes his hand in front of your face before looking over his shoulder to see what you were looking at. “Ah that must be his assistant”. You snap back to reality,

“Assistant?” you ask looking at Mitaka.

“Yeah, I heard through some of the other lieutenants, apparently she was his assistant for over a year on Starkiller base, but she’s only just come back to work after some injury she got while escaping the base”

“Oh” you reply into your coffee.

“You better not” Mitaka suddenly states. You bring your coffee back down to the table, eyes furrowed in confusion at his statement,

“What?”

“Leave… you better not leave. You’re the only sane one here… well… least insane anyway” he smiles at you. You let out a small snort as you kick his leg under the table. Finishing your food you both get up to leave, walking side by side continuing your joke about the lack of sanity within the First Order, the two of you laugh loudly. But what you don’t notice in this rare moment of joviality is Hux neglecting his own conversation with the blonde opposite to stare down the man making you laugh so much.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You and Mitaka arrive at the bridge ready to start your day. You make your way over to your monitor to find a new work order from Ren himself, asking for flight plans through another system to be delivered to his office by the end of your shift. Your thoughts wondered for a second, would this be for that same mission? Or a separate one? It doesn’t matter you remind yourself; you’re not going with him. As you get on with your task time seems to melt away, before you know it its nearly the end of your shift. You gather everything you needed before making your way across the bridge. As you reach the other side of the central walkway, between the pits, Hux’s greatcoat cladded body suddenly fills your field of vision.

You have to stop abruptly, looking up at him you let out an exaggerated sigh.

“What?” you seethe.

“On your way to see Ren again?” he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Yes”, you decide to make him squirm dropping your voice to a whisper, “I have a thing for authority figures don’t you know”

Hux scoffs at you, cantering his head downwards, matching your low voice, “It wouldn’t surprise me…”, a bolt of attraction flooded your body and a familiar tingling begins dancing over your pussy at his husky voice and close proximity, “that’s obviously the only way you feel you can get a promotion around here”.

You pierce your lips together as you stare back at him,

“Bit hypocritical, coming from the man who had to get rid of his only competition to get a job”

Hux continued to arch his neck downwards at you as you arched yours upwards to him. You both fell into a long elogated silence, neither one of you wanting to break the eye contact. The faint rumblings of everyone on the bridge seemed to fade away, as if it were only you and Hux there. His stare felt like it was penetrating your very soul, like he could see everything about you. You have to rub your thighs together at the growing intensity of the situation, your pussy now beginning to pulse. It had been so long since you had just been able to look at him, no distractions, no bickering, _just him_. The longer you stare, the more his features begin to slowly soften as if he was having the same realisation as you, but he soon tightens up again, deciding to break the moment,

“Well, since you’re off to see your _boyfriend_ you can deliver these for me”, Hux thrust some files out to you, forcing you to grab hold of them before they dropped to the floor. You look down at the files you now held, scrunching your nose and narrowing your eyes at him,

“Can’t you ask your _girlfriend_ to do that?” you ask, using your head to gesture to the blonde stood a couple of paces behind him. Hux starts to tut at you, you truly hated when he did that, a cocky smile pulling at his features, he gestures his head slightly towards you, minimising the gap between you a fraction more,

“Now who’s jealous?”

Hux doesn’t wait for a reaction, instead brushing past your shoulder to continue across the bridge, the blonde promptly following.

You stay planted where you stood for a moment before marching out of the bridge. You march angrily into a turbolift, three other officers already in there,

“GET OUT!” you yell, the other officers shoot quick glances at one another before swiftly exiting, panic consuming their faces and movements. The turbolift doors finally close, giving you some peace and quiet. Your anger was practically frothing, but you weren’t sure if it was from him treating you as nothing but an assistant or because he, again, seemed to have some hypnotic command over your loins.

“Ughhhh” you moan to yourself. You rub your thighs together, desperately trying to get some friction to relieve the ache. You consider slipping your hand under your trousers again. But no. You couldn’t give in to your urges again, you would not give him the power to do that.

You exit the lift once it arrives, you try walking a bit quicker than usual to increase the friction between your legs, but it did little to relieve anything. You round the corner to Ren’s office, the door opening by itself to greet you.

Ren was sat back in a large leather office chair, looking down at his datapad, his large feet resting on his desk. Hux would never. His office had the same black glossy tiles and red accents that were throughout the First Order. His desk situated at the back of the square room with a large window behind. He had a couple of black armchairs in the middle of the room with a small coffee table. He didn’t address you upon your entrance, so you walk up to his desk.

“I have the flight plans you requested sir” you state as you place the files on his desk.

“I sense you are tense L/N” he responds, still not looking up.

“Hux…”, you seethe a little too dramatically, “also asked me to deliver these”, you fling the files down with much less care. With this Ren looks up to you.

“You don’t guard your mind as well when you’re…” Ren trails off still looking up at you, an eyebrow arched. Your palms start to sweat with a combination of panic and guilt as you realise your mistake. Your mind immediately betrays you by flashing back to the turbolift and trying to relieve that urge between your legs. By thinking about the very thing you didn’t want him to know you had lead him straight to it.

“I can help with that” Ren cuts through, voice deadpan.

“Excuse me?” you stammer out, desperately trying to re-build the walls around your mind. Ren lets out a small smirk at your attempts to block him out, before standing and rounding the table, his eyes never leaving you as if he was stalking his prey. Your breath quickened as he positioned himself directly in front of you, his large form consuming your vision.

“I can help…”, he cocks his head still looking at you, “relieve that tension” his voice dripping with lust and mischief. You gulp heavily, your eyes transfixed by his. Ren moves his hand to place it on your waist, letting out a breath through his parted lips as he touches you. He quickly contrasts that gentleness as he pushes you backwards up against the wall. You suck in a breath through your nose as he presses you against the wall, your mind briefly flickering back to when Hux held you like this yesterday, you clench at the thought. Ren moves his other hand to your waist, bending his head down he buries his head between your shoulder and neck taking in a deep breath through his nose.

“You smell so sweet” he moans into you. He repositions one of his large legs, nudging it between your legs, which were firmly pressed together. You relent, moving your legs allowing him access. As he presses even more of himself against you, you feel his hard length through your clothing, eliciting a sharp intake of breath through your lips. Ren lets out a small moan between planting kisses on your neck and shoulder, as he slowly thrusts his groin into you. He drags a hand down from your waist, resting it on your lower abdomen for a moment, before slipping it under your trouser waistband and over your underwear. He sucks in another breath,

“I didn’t even have to do that much to you”, he whispers into your neck.

Gods this was awkward. You were 99% sure that it was your interaction with Hux on the bridge that put you in this state and not the man currently in front of you with his fingers tracing over your clit. You clench again at the nanosecond thought of Hux. Then again, it would be easier to just believe that it was Ren doing this and not _him_.

Desperately wanting to believe it was Ren who had this effect on you, you move your hands up to place them on the black fabric covering his firm chest, gradually surrendering to his touch, as he continued to trace his fingers over your sex. He let out a series of small moans and grunts as he quickened his fingers over your clit and bucking his groin into your leg. You start to whimper at his quickening movements, moving your own hips to meet his thrusts, that tension finally close to being relieved. You let out a quiet moan moving your hands up to his neck, Ren starts nip and suck at the sensitive skin of your neck when the sound of a door handle being pulled down cuts through the moment. When the door didn’t open there was banging,

“REN!”. Unfortunately you knew that voice all too well and so did Ren, he ceased all his movement.

“REN! LET ME IN!” Hux demanded as he continued to bang against the door.

Ren pulled his hand out from under your trousers but kept the other on your waist as he pulled back to look you in the eye,

“Another time” he whispered with a devilish smile. He reaches out a hand to unlock the door using the force, you hadn’t even notice him lock it in the first place. He took a step backwards from you but still stood a lot closer than any high-ranking officer should. Hux came marching in, arms swinging by his side rather than perfectly placed behind his back like they usually were.

“Interrupting, am I?” he asks, voice dripping with venom.

He narrows his eyes at you and Ren as he continued to approach, trying to decipher the scene in front of him. Seeing Hux triggered something to start rising up your oesophagus, you felt pure panic and guilt at the idea of Hux knowing what Ren was just doing to you.

Ren moved away from you and back behind his desk. You swallowed whatever was rising up your throat as you moved away from the wall and back in front of Ren’s desk and next to Hux.

Hux was staring at you, the emerald green eyes you saw earlier being consumed by something much darker. His face was expressionless apart from the flaring of his nostrils and furrow of his brows as he analysed the slight blush on your face and the noticeable rise and fall of your chest.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” asked Ren as he leant back into his chair, placing his boots back on the desk. You didn’t need to look at Hux to know he would have a look of displeasure at Ren’s lack of formality.

“I asked lieutenant L/N to deliver some files for me”, Hux moved his head slightly to get more of you in his periphery, “when she didn’t return to the bridge I wanted to make sure they actually got here… L/N has a record of _incompetence_ as you well know”.

It may have been adrenaline of the situation or frustration from the fact that you were _still_ aching for the General, but his words cut through you much easier than usual. Without thinking through your actions, you turn to face him, eyes narrowed and lips slightly parted,

“Well, lucky for you _general_ … I am no longer your concern”, you pause a moment relishing in his confusion, “I will be accompanying Ren on his mission tomorrow” you spit defiantly. Ren was smiling as he looked between you and Hux.

Hux’s lips parted in response, the only noticeable change to his composed face, he let out a breath before returning to Ren.

“Why was I not informed of this?”

“It didn’t concern you” Ren replied, clearly relishing Hux’s displeasure.

Keeping his eyes fixed on Ren,

“You are dismissed lieutenant” Hux barked.

You look up at Hux and back to Ren who gave you a small nod,

“Yes sir”

You quickly walk out of the office and along the corridor to the turbolift. As the doors close you let out a deep breath as you lean against the wall. You were grateful to be out of there, the presence of those two men was practically suffocating. It was only when the turbolift doors opened to your floor that it hit you, what you’d agreed to in Ren’s office. You were going with him, tomorrow.

You make it back to your quarters, mind swirling, repeating everything that happened in Ren’s office. Just wanting to relax for a moment you turn on the shower and step in.

Your muscles immediately relax under the heat. You grab the bar of soap to clean yourself, as you drag it down your abdomen, you’re reminded that you never had that tension ‘relieved’. As your mind begins to swirl again with the day’s events you move a hand down to your pussy, fingertips teasing your bundle of nerves. You try recalling the way Ren’s large hands held on to you, his moans as he bucked his groin into you. But each time you recall the encounter your mind inexplicably flashes back to Hux. You clench every time, an electric shock travelling up your spine and outwards to caress every nerve ending, a heat flooding your system. The way he confidently strode in, arms swinging by his side. You move your fingers feverishly over your clit. The way he almost seemed jealous. You whimper, moaning his name. The darkness in his eyes which made him look so powerful and commanding, you moan his name again, teetering on your edge. And that god-damned coat of his, you imagine gripping on to his lapels as you send yourself over the edge, images of Hux continuing to flood your mind. You shoot your hand out against the wall to steady yourself, your muscles quivering from your overdue release.

“Shit” you whisper to yourself. You said you wouldn’t do this again.


	3. Attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note, as you'll see from this chapter this fic won't follow the exact plot of the films but is still loosely based around certain plot points. Hope you enjoy x

HUX POV

The door clicked shut after you left, Hux’s fists were firmly clenched by his sides threatening to tear the leather that wrapped his knuckles. Ren continued to stare back at Hux with a small smug grin at the displeasure he was currently causing.

“What are you up to?”

“General, it’s not out of the norm to have a navigator accompany a mission”, Ren paused allowing his sarcastic tone to permeate the atmosphere, “especially one such as this. The scavenger could be anywhere in the galaxy, I need someone who knows the different systems well”. Hux rolled his eyes at the mention of _that scavenger_ , he’d waste all the Order’s resources to find her if he could. And now he wants to take her away and waste her potential on his pathetic obsessions.

“But why _her_ ”, Hux’s voice was commanding but hid an undercurrent of concern.

Ren immediately picked up on the soft undertones of his voice, his smile now covering the lower half of his face. Ren kept his eyes on Hux as he took his feet off the desk, leaning forward in his chair to study Hux’s face.

“Why _not_ her General?” Ren asked with genuine curiosity as his eyes lit up.

Hux presses his lips together, desperate to hide the boiling anger he felt.

“She’s the navigator of _my_ ship Ren” Hux barks back.

Ren drops his smile, disappointed that Hux re-directed the conversation back to work instead of indulging his curiosities. Growing disinterested with the interaction Ren leans back into his chair again, returning his boots to the desk,

“L/N has a team does she not? I’m sure there’s a more than suitable replacement there”

“I don’t see why I should lose a perfectly good navigator to your foolish mission”

Ren’s demeanour darkened at Hux’s insult,

“That _foolish_ mission has been approved by our Supreme Leader General… and not five minutes ago you were in here calling her incompetent…” Ren paused, his curiosity peaking at the lack of witty retort coming from the General and his eyes which were currently darting around their eye sockets.

“So I’ll ask you again… why are you so desperate not to lose her… it didn’t seem to bother you three years ago”

Hux snaps his eyes to the man sat before him, desperate to maintain the walls around his mind as his thoughts raced. Hux’s heart begins to beat just that little bit quicker. His mind swirled with questions; how could he possibly know about that? Did she tell him? How much did she tell him? Ren kept his eyes on Hux throughout, savouring every ounce of displeasure he was causing the General. He inched forward slightly, his mouth about to form more words,

“Fine!” Hux barks in defeat. Ren reclines into his chair once again, disappointed he couldn’t taunt Hux further. Hux clears his throat before raising his chin slightly to look down his nose at Ren,

“I will discuss a hand-over and replacement with L/N tomorrow”

Hux swiftly turns on his heels to march out, not needing or wanting a reply from Ren. He had just made it to the door, a hand on the handle,

“Always a pleasure General” came a sickeningly sarcastic voice from behind. Hux paused a moment clenching his jaw, his spare hand once again clenching from anger, before aggressively pulling down the handle and marching out.

Hux marched down the corridor, fists clenched and arms swinging by his side. He was nearly at his office when he registered a set of hurried footsteps pattering behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see his assistant hurrying behind him, he lets out a sigh. Entering his office, Hux makes his way behind the desk, his assistant following to stand in front of him.

“Officer Alula, I won’t be requiring you services for the rest of the day, you are dismissed”, his voice exasperated from the hurricane of emotions that were swirling within him, not that you would ever guess from his perfect composure.

The officer’s brows furrowed, her facial expressions pulled into a disappointed look,

“But sir I n-

“Officer!” Hux shouts, pausing for a moment and narrowing his eyes at her, “you are dismissed” he hisses.

A glint appeared in her eyes which Hux knew were tears pooling but he didn’t have time for the fragile sensibilities of his assistant right now.

“Yes sir” she replied in a cracked voice before turning to leave.

As she closed the door behind her Hux lets out another sigh.

Officer Alula wasn’t _that_ bad for an assistant, he had tolerated her the last year or so on Starkiller base. She could do as he asked, but beyond that she was unremarkable, she had no initiative in her work. The truth was he’d never been able to find a partnership like the one he had with L/N. They did always work so well together, even before things _complicated_. A shudder wraps itself around Hux’s body just at the thought. They always seemed to know what the other was thinking and what they needed, they backed one another up, they were a team, the First Order would have thrived under them both. But then he destroyed that. And now, any slight miniscule chance he had at having that again and he pushed her away, _again_. Hux squeezed his eyes shut and sucked in a breath through his mouth, only now realising how much he desperately didn’t want her to leave. He lets out a prolonged steady breath to calm the emotional storm whirling within him. The same phrases repeating in his mind: _she’s a good officer, nothing more , she’s a good officer, nothing more_. Hux flooded his mind with the phrases trying to convince himself that his need for her was nothing beyond the interests of the First Order.

Hux then started to realise that the worst part of all this was that _he_ had been the one to push her directly into the arms of that man child. The way he insulted her, threatened her, tried to make her jealous with his own assistant, Hux scoffs and rolls his eyes at his own behaviour.

In a rare display of pure emotion, Hux bangs his clenched fists against the desk in anger, a few strands of his usually perfect hair tousling at the side of his face. The desk reverberated from the strength he had sent through it with his fists. He leans back into his chair, bringing his gloved hands up to cover his face. He lets out another exaggerated sigh.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Hux’s mind begins to flicker back to the image of L/N in Ren’s office, her blushed face and the combination of panic and guilt that consumed her eyes. He begins to imagine the worst things involving her and Ren, a metallic taste of blood creeping across his tongue as he continued to clamp his teeth into his cheek the more he thought.

He dragged his hands down his face before smoothing his hair back into place. An unfamiliar feeling of defeat flooding his senses. Hux realised there was nothing he could do to stop her from leaving.

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YOUR POV

You slowly blink your eyes open, stretching out your limbs as you turned on to your side. It was 5:30. For a moment it was just a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary. But as you regained more of your consciousness the events of last night crashed into you like a tidal wave. You were leaving the Finalizer to go with _Kylo Ren_. Your heart stared racing as you recalled your _other_ interaction with Ren yesterday, had that _really_ happened? Or was it just a dream? You unconsciously bring a hand up to your neck, tracing a sore patch of skin, your eyes widening. No, it was real, you had let Ren stick his hand down your trousers whilst he devoured your neck. _Fuck_. Right before you’re meant to be going on a mission with him. You chastise yourself at the lack of professionalism.

Groaning at your poor life decisions you push yourself up off the bed to head into the refresher. As your eyes drifted over the shower you also remembered how you had been able to get yourself off just to the thought of another man opposed to the touch of Ren. You start to blush as blood floods into your cheeks at the memory. Ren would not be happy if he knew what General Hux could unconsciously do to you. You make a mental note to bury those thoughts deep down while you were away with Ren. On the bright side, the mission might actually make it easier to push those thoughts out completely, out of sight out of mind and all that.

You change into a fresh uniform before brushing your hair into your usual ponytail. You had to take a little extra time to cover up the newly formed bruise that was peeking above your collar. Exiting the refresher you notice the blinking light on your datapad, alerting you to new messages. There were three:

**Message 1:**

_Lieutenant L/N,_

_We will depart at 1700 today from Hangar 3._

_All uniforms and toiletries will be provided._

_Commander Ren_

At least you didn’t have to pack anything, though it was weird that he knew your exact measurements for uniforms.

**Message 2:**

_Hey L/N,_

_Might be 5 minutes late to breakfast today._

_Mitaka_

_Shit._ You’d completely forgotten about Mitaka. Yesterday you were saying you wouldn’t be leaving and now you’d have to tell him that you wouldn’t even be finishing the day here. _He might understand,_ you optimistically consider. Except he probably wouldn’t because you’d also have to explain your weird hate/sexual urges for Hux and how Ren had somehow inserted himself into the mix. You sigh again at your poor decisions. You’d have to let him know at breakfast.

**Message 3:**

_Lieutenant L/N,_

_Report to my office at your usual start time. I need to discuss a hand-over and replacement for your absence._

_General Hux_

The thought of seeing Hux again sent a strange flutter through your stomach. You almost wanted one last chance to wind him up, but you also knew you’d be dealing with Mitaka first and probably wouldn’t be in the mood for Hux’s bullshit afterwards.

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Your leg is bouncing rapidly under the table and your heart is racing just as fast as you wait for Mitaka in the mess hall. You’d already picked up a tray of food for him so he could come right over. _Gods, why did he have to be five minutes late today when you need to tell him something important?_ You’re nervous energy was now taking control of your hands too; you start tapping with increasing speed on the table-top.

Mitaka’s slicked back dark hair suddenly comes into view. Your nervous energy causing you to shoot an arm up at the speed of light to get his attention. His wide smile was clear as day even from the other side of the mess hall which only made you feel even more guilty. Mitaka makes his way across the hall, you lower you hand slowly and cease bouncing your leg as if all that energy had suddenly left your body at seeing his face.

“Thanks for picking me up some food”, Mitaka pulls the chair out to sit, “got called out in the early hours with some issues on the bridge, I barely had time to go back and change for the day”. He glances over to your single cup of black coffee, gesturing to it with his spoon, “is that all you’re having” he asked with concern.

You bring a hand up to your mouth and bite the corner of nail on your index finger. You just nod slowly in response before bringing your hand back to the table.

“Mitaka… I have to tell you something” you say softly.

He looks up from his bowl to you. Your eyes start fluttering as you try to find the right words,

“I’m, I’m leaving today, to go with Ren” you stutter out.

Mitaka stops chewing and remains perfectly still as he continues to look at you. He slowly puts his spoon down; his face was starting to crumple into anger as he cast his gaze to the table.

“You said you wouldn’t”. His tone was angry but controlled.

“I- I know, I’m really sorry Mitaka”, you rest a hand on top of his, but he quickly snatches his hand away, still unable to look you in the eye.

“Just go”

You desperately think of something to say to him, not wanting this to be the way you say goodbye.

“But Mi-

“I SAID GO” he interrupted with a raised voice, a few faces from the neighbouring tables turning to investigate. You look around to the other officer’s watching, not wanting to create a scene, you accept defeat. You stand from your seat, taking a couple of small steps, you stand behind Mitaka. His head was now in his hands, you place a hand on his shoulder as you bend down slightly to whisper,

“I really am sorry”

He flinches his shoulder to get you to remove your hand, you do as he wishes, looking at his back for a moment before you finally take a breath and head towards the exit. As you continue to walk you have to fight back the tears threatening to fall as the feeling of guilt consumes your every cell.

It was 6:00, still half an hour before you had to meet Hux, you’re breakfast with Mitaka hadn’t been as long as you were hoping. With nothing else to do you decide to head to Hux’s office early to wait.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You’d been pacing outside his office door for around 10 minutes now, repeating the events of breakfast on a loop the whole time. _Maybe if you saw him on the bridge you could try and speak to him?_ You shake your head; no he doesn’t want to see you and you can’t blame him.

The next time you check the time it’s 6:28, that’s good enough.

Taking in one last gulp of air you knock on his office door. There was a brief pause before a muffled voice came through the door,

“Enter”

You open the door and walk into his office, Hux was sat behind his desk, his eyes focussed on the monitor in front of him. The office was sleek and tidy like he liked things to be. There was a large window behind his desk, the walls and floor black and glossy. He had a small black sofa along one wall and bookshelves on the other side, an archway appeared to lead to a refresher. As you progress further into the office you register the blonde officer sat at a smaller desk in the corner, you eye her up as you continue walking. You’d already decided you didn’t like her ever since you saw her in the mess hall. She looked up to meet your gaze, her face portraying mild panic to see you already staring back at her. She quickly returned her eyes to some papers on the desk, there was something undeterminably shifty about her.

Your legs carried you forward, you were now standing in front of Hux’s desk, but he hadn’t yet removed his gaze from the monitor. You re-adjust your posture, making sure your back was straight and arms were held firmly in place behind your back. You wait another 20 seconds before clearing your throat hoping to get his attention, after your interaction with Mitaka you weren’t in the mood for his games. His attention remained firmly set on the monitor,

“Leave us Officer Alula” he commanded through the silence.

You didn’t turn to see her go, just the faint shuffling of papers, footsteps and the click of the door closing informing you that she had left.

Hux finally turns his head to look up at you, the bright green hue of his emerald eyes temporarily causing you to catch your breath, there was no evidence of the darkness that consumed them yesterday. But he did have some prominent dark circles under his eyes, he obviously hadn’t been getting enough sleep, even all those years ago you were having to remind him to sleep. He considered you for a brief moment before returning his attention to the monitor,

“Ensure the fuel calculations and costs are accurate up to the next scheduled re-fuelling and appoint someone from your team to act as chief navigator. Report back to me later with the reports and new appointment”. There was a brief pause, “you’re dismissed” he said with an uninterested tone and a flurry of his hand.

Your mouth drops open a fraction at his dismissal. _Was that it?_ His behaviour, as usual, pressing every one of your buttons.

“Excuse me Sir… but couldn’t you have informed me of this over a message?”

He looks up at you before leaning back into his chair, placing his hands on the armrests of his chair,

“Whatever you’re hoping to get out of this L/N… it won’t work out”

You raise your eyebrows, looking down to the ground for a moment before returning to him,

“I didn’t know you cared”

“I don’t” he snapped back, not letting a nanosecond of silence penetrate the air as you finished talking. You scoff back sarcastically, shuffling on your feet slightly. You force out a sarcastic smile to hide the niggle of disappointment you secretly felt at how quickly he had responded. Trying to compose yourself, you lift your head up,

“Well… I’ll get those reports and my appointment to you by 16:30” you say with a small nod.

You turn and take a couple of steps to leave the office when you hear the a clang of metal, the sudden noise made you flinch. You turn to find Hux now stood behind his desk, his chair still shaking from the impact it made with the wall behind. His presence was commanding even from the four or so paces you were away from his desk. You noticed the gentle rise and fall of chest, his eyes were focussed on you, his lips twitching ever so slightly. There was a moment of silence between you both. You furrow your brows in confusion at the strange behaviour coming from the usually perfectly precise General.

You raise your eyebrows at him with a small shake of your head, gesturing with your hand for him to spit out whatever he wanted to say. But he just continues to stare back, his fists now clenched by his sides. You let out a loud sigh in frustration at whatever intimidation tactic he was trying to scare you with. Deciding not to indulge his behaviour you turn and start to walk out, leaving the General standing as he watched you leave.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You enter the bridge, immediately registering Mitaka stood at his usual station. He looks up to see you before quickly snapping his attention back down to his monitor.

You walk across the bridge to your workstation to start on the fuel calculations and costing up to the next scheduled re-fuelling. Once that was completed you spun around on your chair to take in the scene of the bridge. As you watched you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was _off_. The usual hum and hive of activity seemed different, but nothing outwardly appeared to be wrong. As you take in the scene the flurry of a black coat caught your attention, it was the Hux entering the bridge. He shot you a glaring look to tell you to get back to work, even from across the other side of the bridge it was intimidating, you roll your eyes before spinning back round.

Using your monitor you flick through the records of the officers on your team to find a replacement. You didn’t know any of their names, it didn’t seem important to learn them. From your experience none of them seemed to stand out in their job performance. You finally settle on a random officer who had the most experience on different ships and was the highest in their class at the Academy.

You let out a sigh, you’d done everything Hux had asked of you, but you just sat for a moment, not wanting to leave. You check the time, it’s 16:25, you gather your calculations and the records of the replacement officer. As you walk across the bridge you look at Mitaka one last time wishing you could let him know how sorry you were and how much you valued his friendship. Your attention was then pulled away by the tall form of General Hux who had begun to march out of the bridge. Wanting to get this over and done with quickly you shout after him,

“General!”

He ignores you, still marching towards the turbolifts. You pick up your pace to close the distance between you both.

“General?”

Still no response. His quick march is eventually halted by the lack of an available turbolift, giving you the chance to catch up. Now slightly short of breath you stare at the back of his broad shoulders,

“General Hux?”

He turns slowly to face you, the proximity between you both making him seem so much taller. He raises an eyebrow, as if you are so insignificant to him that he can’t even be bothered to use words. You bring up the hand that was clutching the files,

“The work you asked for”

Hux stared back at you for a moment before taking the files and starting to thumb through them. As his attention was consumed by costs and calculations you turn your head to look down the long corridor, taking in all the moving officers getting on with their work, savouring it like it was the last time you would ever see it. As you continued to take it all in the same feeling you had on the bridge started to seep through again, something was _off,_ but you couldn’t pinpoint what it was. The corridor consisted of officers of different ranks weaving their way through bodies, some stood discussing reports, others waiting for lifts further down the corridor and a pair of stormtroopers.

You zero in on the pair of stormtroopers, narrowing your eyes at them. The way they were holding their blasters wasn’t regulation. Stormtroopers were trained from birth; they’d been holding blasters from toddler age. You vaguely register Hux’s voice asking you a question, but it never fully penetrates your consciousness. The stormtroopers continued to make ground on where you and Hux stood, your heart beginning to beat increasingly fast with every step they took.

“Lieutenant?”

Hux must have raised his voice this time as it caught more of your attention, but you continued to stare down the corridor. One of the trooper’s fingers started to twitch over the trigger. The same trooper then brought his blaster up pointing directly in the direction of you and the General. _This definitely wasn’t regulation_. Your eyes immediately widened, heart now threatening to burst out of your chest. You subconsciously hear the ‘bing’ of the newly arrived lift. Without turning your eyes away from the troopers, you brought your hands up to meet the firm chest of Hux and push through him with every ounce of energy you had.

As you push him into the turbolift there was a sudden eruption of noise, the echo of blasters ricocheting off the smooth walls of the corridor and the screams of officers. You and Hux fall next to one another on the floor of the lift, emitting a similar grunt as you made impact, the files held by Hux now sprawled across the floor. Registering the situation more quickly than him, you stand to quickly press the button for the floor his office was on.

The doors begin to close, slowly muffling the blood curdling mix of blasters and screams.

The only sound now was the heavy breathing from you and Hux. You look down to him on the ground, his eyes were moving rapidly as he tried to process the situation. Looking up to you he promptly stood, smoothing a couple of lose strands of his hair back into place. He looked at you before casting his eyes down to something, seemingly transfixed by it, with one stride he was on top of you. He brought his fingertips to your waist, still staring at the same point.

“What are you doing” you ask with disdain as you try to step back away from him, the wall behind you trapping you in place. He ignores your questioning, his fingertips lightly prodding your waist.

You finally look down to see a darkening splodge creeping across your black uniform.

“Oh shit” you breathe.

You hadn’t felt the impact and you couldn’t feel anything now. Your breath begins to quicken to the point of hyperventilation, the panic of that amount of blood mixed with the confusion of not feeling anything overwhelming your mind. Paralysed by the sight you didn’t protest when Hux unzipped your jacket and started to push it off your shoulders, removing it completely from your body. With just the thin material of your black under top you got an even better view of the blood loss. Your concentration was broken at the sound of ripping fabric, you looked up to find Hux ripping an arm off your jacket. His eyes met yours again, nothing was said between you, but your shared eye contact somehow conveyed a feeling of mutual trust. You had just saved his life and now he was trying to do the same.

Hux closed the gap between you again, reaching his hands under your arms and behind your back to bring the torn jacket across your waist. Clutching both ends of the torn fabric in either hand he looked into you,

“This is going to hurt”, his tone was firm yet somehow comforting.

You nod slowly, biting your lip in anticipation. Hux swiftly ties the fabric across your wound to form a tight knot. You felt as if every one of your nerve endings had suddenly been brought back to life and were now crackling with pain. You squeeze your eyes shut, clamping your teeth down on to your lip, breaking the skin. 

Hux bent down to inspect the knot, repositioning it slightly so it was more central over the wound before standing again. His attention was then pulled by the doors starting to slowly open again, you both turn your heads to look out at the seemingly quiet corridor.

“They may not have reached this floor yet” Hux states as he reaches under his coat to unclick the concealed blaster from his belt. He turns back to you, “if we get to my office, we can contact the bridge”. You nod back at him. Hux brings the blaster up, readying himself to use it, “stay behind me”.

Hux begins to slowly back away from you and position his body to face out of the turbolift, his movements perfectly calculated. You quickly move to stand behind him, grabbing on to the fabric of his coat, the fresh rush of adrenaline dampening down your nerve endings again. Hux sticks his head out into the corridor, looking in both directions before slowly stepping out, his blaster still cocked and ready for use. You both skirted the corridor wall; you were partly leaning on it for support as your energy began to waver from the blood loss.

You had almost reached the doors to his office when the high-pitched sound of blasters ripped through the air again. Hux quickly returns fire up ahead, continuing to move forward as he did so. Sparks were flying as the blaster fire hit the walls around you, you keep your eyes fixed on Hux’s back trying to stay focussed on just putting one foot in front of the other. Before you knew it Hux was pulling you into his office, quickly shutting the doors and locking them. He put his hand on the small of your back, pushing you forwards towards and around his desk. He bent down behind the desk, you mirror his actions as he swiftly opens a drawer to reveal another blaster, he looked back at you,

“Are you still any good with a blaster?”

“I can still out-shoot you any day” you reply slightly breathless.

“Never miss an opportunity, do you?”, a smile tugging at his lips.

“Never miss a shot either”, you match his small smile with your own.

Hux takes your hands and wraps them around the blaster before turning his attention to a holoprojector on his desk. Tapping on the device a blue grainy image of Mitaka appears, you let out a breath in temporary relief that he is still alive.

“This is Hux, what the hell is going on down there?”

Mitaka’s image was ducking to avoid blaster shots on the bridge as he replied,

“It’s the resistance sir, they’ve infiltrated the ship, there’s not many of us left down here”

Your heart skipped a beat at Mitaka’s words, the thought of losing him filling you with dread.

“Tell Phasma to deploy the stormtroopers, we’ll have to take them floor by floor” Hux commands back.

“Yes sir”

“Any word on Ren’s whereabouts?

“N-no sir”, Mitaka ducks again, “no word”. Mitaka looks away from the holoprojector as the sound of blasters intensified, the grainy image suddenly disappearing.

You continue to look at where his image had been, holding your breath, not wanting to believe that he may be dead.

“No” you whisper.

Hux lets out a sigh before looking down to you. You don’t look at him, you’re grip on reality was becoming increasingly tenuous from the mixture of emotions and blood loss.

Pounding on the door suddenly filled the air, the sound of voices increasing in the corridor. Both you and Hux snapped into action, resting your blasters on the desk pointing towards the door while using the desk for cover. The door was abruptly thrown open, a male resistance fighter entered, his blaster pressed firmly into the head of Officer Alula. The male was tall with tanned skin, his face had a light spray of something you presumed to be blood. Alula was crying, her hands clutching at the arm that encased her neck as the male held her still. Another two fighters followed behind them, a male and female, both with their blasters cocked ready to shoot.

“Put down the blasters or we’ll shoot her” came a voice belonging to the male holding Alula.

You were in a stand-off, a battle of nerves.

Without warning Hux fired his blaster, hitting the leg of Alula who swiftly fell to the ground. As soon as you heard his blaster you aimed at the two fighters behind. You hit the female clean in the chest before re-directing your aim at the male. Your first shot hit his shoulder, but he wasn’t disabled, he fired back, marginally missing you. Catching your breath, you quickly re-aim hitting his lower abdomen. Meanwhile Hux had already fired at the middle fighter, his body becoming completely exposed without the body of Alula shielding him, he fell to the floor on top of her.

You have to blink a couple of times; the whole scene having changed so quickly. Silence now contrasting the deafening sound of blasters just a few seconds ago. Hux begins to slowly stand, peering over the desk to make sure they were all dead on the ground. You slowly follow, observing the office floor now littered with bodies.

“You shot her” you whisper as you look back to Hux.

Hux didn’t acknowledge your comment as he starts to round the desk. He pushes the body of the fighter off Alula before turning her over, so she was face up. You could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest and the open eyes; she was still alive. You round the desk to stand next to Hux who was now crouched down investigating her leg wound, you continue to stare down at her. She was blinking slowly, watching Hux. The undeterminable shifty aura you felt before was now surrounding her again, she started to shift her body against the floor.

Your eyes suddenly zero in on a blaster appearing from under her body,

“Watch out!” you shout, immediately bringing your own blaster up and aimed directly at her. Without waiting for any reaction you shoot, hitting her shoulder causing her to drop the blaster. You quickly kick the blaster away from her hand as you stare down at her, she was now clutching her shoulder as she withered in pain.

You breathe heavily, the burst of adrenaline that had ripped through your body now leaving you weakened. You stumble back slightly, clutching at your waist, the pain had been slowly starting to course through your veins again. You bring your hand away again; blood covered your palm. You gulp as you steady yourself against the desk, your eyes were becoming heavy, each blink seemed to become longer and longer.

“L/N?” Hux’s voice pierced the air from where he stood by Alula.

Hux was suddenly in front of you, his hands on your shoulders trying to shake you into consciousness. But his voice was starting to fade into your subconsciousness, becoming more and more muffled. You feel Hux reposition himself, hooking one arm behind you knees and the other around your waist careful not to grip your wound too much. He lifted you up, pulling you against his chest as he starts to step over the bodies, changing his pace from a walk to a steady run.

You slowly slip into unconsciousness, the sound of Hux’s heartbeat thrumming against you.


	4. Recovery

You hadn’t yet regained full consciousness, the only sense available to you being your hearing, faint beeps and hums coming from machinery informed you that you were still alive, somewhere. You recognised the sound of muffled voices, but you had no idea who they were coming from or what they were saying. For all you knew you had been captured. On cue your mind started flashing images of the office, the sound of blaster fire, the resistance fighters, Alula. With each image you start to breathe quicker and quicker to the point of hyperventilation, but you couldn’t escape the images in your mind, you were trapped in your own mind with no escape. The faint beeping you noted earlier had now changed from a rhythmic pattern to an intense burst of frantic beeps.

But your rising panic was swiftly quelled by something that felt like fingers lightly smoothing upwards from the bridge of your nose to the mid-point of your forehead. Your breathing immediately started to steady as the touch soothed you. You weren’t compos mentis enough to consider where this soothing was coming from, instead just leaning into the comforting strokes, growing more relaxed with each movement. Your breathing had now returned to a normal level, the frantic beeping subsiding to a slower rate. The light touch continued, relaxing you further, the flashing images finally alleviating allowing you to submit to complete unconsciousness again.

You don’t know how long it has been since the last time you regained some level of consciousness, you try opening your eyes, the bright light of the room around you making your eyes water. It takes you a couple of minutes before you can fully open your eyes to survey the room around you. You were in a med bay, First Order by the looks of it, you sigh in relief. You were on a single bed in a small room with white walls and black tiled flooring. Your upper half was surrounded by machines, emitting low hums and beeps, with blinking lights. Your bed faced a door, on the left wall was a small window and on the right a couple of chairs.

You look down over your body to survey the damage. You were covered in a grey medic gown, some tubes coming out of your right hand. You smooth your left hand down over your torso, wincing when you reach the blaster wound. You test your pain threshold a little more by prodding over the area, trying to gauge the size of the wound.

Your attention is pulled from the wound when the door opens, a white medical droid entering with a tray of what looked like medication. You watch the droid as it makes its way round,

“How long have I been here?” you ask trying to sit yourself up more, wincing again as you pull on the area around your wound.

“It’s been just over a day miss. Excuse me, I must notify my superiors of your consciousness” the droid replied, making its way out of the room again with little explanation.

You drop your head back to the pillow behind, letting out a sigh as you did so. As you wait, the more you begin to remember. You remember a crackly image of Mitaka on the holoprojector. _What happened to him? Was he dead?_ You felt your heart beat faster as you pondered on your friend, the increasing beeps coming from the machine seemingly confirming your quickening heart rate. You then remember shooting Officer Alula. _Was she dead? Was she a traitor? Or a spy?_ You started to picture the last image you could remember from Hux’s office. _Was Hux okay?_ _Was he hurt?_ You can’t remember anything between a fuzzy image of his office and here. _How had you gotten here?_

Your thoughts were interrupted when the doorway was suddenly consumed by the dark cloak and tall form of Ren. You quickly bring your head back up off the pillow, attempting some form of standing to attention despite being hooked up to machines. Ren stared intensely for a moment, cantering his head downwards toward you, before finally stepping into the small room, promptly followed by Hux. _He was okay_. Both men stood at the foot of your bed, one on each side. The room had become impossibly small with both men. Hux repositioned slightly, moving his hand, lightly brushing over your covered ankle as he rested it close to your leg on the bed. Your eyes flicker to his hand as he brushed past you before quickly returning your attention between the faces of the two men in front of you. The intensity from both men was crushing, not being able to stand it much more, you speak up first,

“What happened?”

“We were attacked by resistance fighters” Hux replied somewhat defiantly.

“We were infiltrated _General_ ” Ren hisses back as he turned to look at Hux, “by a spy under your employment”, Ren returned his attention to you. You notice Hux roll his eyes, his hand on the bed tensing.

“Officer Alula” you whisper.

“Yes”, Ren replies with a nod.

“Is she dead?”

“No, your shot was enough to disable her but not kill her” Hux replies.

There was a glimmer in his eyes as he spoke about you shooting Alula, as if watching you partake in such violence filled him with pleasure.

You raise an eyebrow,

“So we can interrogate her?” you ask inquisitively, a small smile tugging at your lips at the thought of forcing answers out of her. You were up for that ever since you first saw her with Hux in the mess hall.

“Yes”, Hux replies as he mirrored your small smile, no doubt having the exact same thought.

You and Hux continue to look at one another, maintaining that similar smile, when you grow increasingly conscious that you and he were not actually alone, and that Ren was still stood over you. You decide to break the familiar sense of growing intensity between you and Hux, bringing your eyes down from his,

“Still… we’ve had a spy in our ranks, for well over a year General. Who knows how much information she has attained while under your employment”

Hux’s features begin to tense up again, his lips twitching slightly,

“Watch yourself lieutenant… don’t delude yourself into thinking my _rescuing of you_ ”, he rolls his eyes, “gives you permission to insult your General”

You scoff back at him. _This man_.

“ _You, rescuing me_?”, you practically laugh back at him, “so you would have been absolutely fine had I not pushed you into that lift or stopped Alula from shooting you?”

Hux presses his lips together, narrowing his eyes at you,

“And you think you would have been fine had I not stopped you from bleeding out in the lift or run miles to get you to the med bay?”

You both maintain eye contact for a moment,

“Well I suppose we’re even then” you feign a pleasant tone.

“I suppose so”, Hux quickly follows, not allowing a moment of silence to follow your statement as he mirrors your fake pleasantness.

“ENOUGH” Ren projects into the room, obviously growing impatient at the back and forth between you and Hux.

You gulp as you look up at him. _Gods, you know it’s bad when Ren, of all people, is arguably the more professional individual in the room_.

“I will interrogate Alula to identify the location of the resistance base” Ren declares as his dark eyes bore into you. You nod back, the machines around you giving away your rising heartrate as your nervousness grows under his glare.

“In the meantime…” Hux cuts through, “we sustained heavy losses throughout the ship, especially the bridge, there were no survivors from the navigations team”

As much as you didn’t want them dead, the news of your team’s demise did not concern you as you remembered Mitaka.

“What about Lieutenant Mitaka?” you rush out.

Hux lets out a small sigh, as if he was frustrated that you were so concerned with another man.

“Lieutenant Mitaka, sustained some minor injuries. He has already returned to his post”

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were keeping in, relaxing slightly into the bed beneath you.

“Lieutenant L/N”, Ren pulls your attention back into the moment, you sit up straighter again, “the General says you were able to tell something wasn’t right with Alula”.

You nod in response, gulping as you did so, eyes slightly widened with nervousness at where he was going with this.

“Considering you apparently have more intuition and foresight than General Hux-

“REN” Hux interrupts warningly.

“- you will assist me with interrogations” Ren continues unphased by Hux’s outburst.

“AND”, Hux raises his voice to interrupt Ren, “you will need to recruit new officers to work in navigations. I expect you back on the bridge for your usual shift tomorrow morning”

_Gods, this man_.

“Yes sir”

\----------

It was 20:00 now, Hux and Ren had left around an hour ago, the droid had just been in to deliver meds that would tie you over the next couple of weeks. You position yourself on the edge of the bed, planting your feet flat on the ground before standing, using the bed for support, your legs felt weak from not being on them for over a day now. You take a tentative couple of steps towards the two chairs, clutching your wound as you did so. You struggle, contorting your body in different angles to minimise the pain while slipping on the uniform that had been laid out on one of the chairs.

Slowly, you make your way through the long corridors back towards your quarters. There was still a good amount of damage evident, holes in the walls from blaster fire, small piles of debris swept up against the walls yet to be cleaned up. You pass a bank of lifts being worked on by some maintenance officers, sparks were flying from the doors of one. You raise your eyebrows at the damage the resistance fighters had been able to inflict.

You’d finally reached your floor using one of the working lifts, now only a couple of corridors away from the seclusion and comfort of your own quarters. You round the last corner when you see him. Mitaka was stood talking to another officer. You freeze in place for a moment just looking at him, a smile starting to spread over your face.

Mitaka, still talking, turns his head slightly when he catches sight of you.

An equally large smile was now being mirrored back to you, without leaving your gaze he turns to leave his conversation, the other officer still talking as he walks away. Mitaka starts making ground towards you, his walk turning into a light run. You start walking towards him to meet him sooner.

His body crashes into yours as he immediately greets you with a deep hug, lacing his arms under your own to encase you. You react by wrapping your own arms around his back, resting the side of your cheek against his chest. You stand like this for a moment, just glad the other was not gone.

“I thought you were dead” you whisper into his uniform.

Mitaka squeezes you a bit tighter,

“I’m sorry about before”

You rub your hands over his back slightly,

“It’s okay” you say softly.

You finally pull away from the hug to look back at one another.

“What happened to you?” Mitaka asked, his voice full of concern as he flickered his eyes over your body.

“Got hit by a blaster fire” you say gesturing towards your torso, “you?”

“Same, but only in my calf” Mitaka responds as he lifts his leg up to gesture to where his wound was. “I heard you were in Hux’s office when something went down?”

Your eyes widen as Mitaka reminded you,

“You’ll never guess!” you reply with excitement.

“What?” Mitaka asks as his eyes widen.

“Officer Alula… Hux’s assistant”, Mitaka nods his head in recognition at the name, “well… she’s a spy for the resistance!”

Mitaka’s eyes widen even more as he raises his brows,

“No!” he exclaims.

“Yes” you reply with a large smile.

“I did not see that coming”

“Apparently neither did Hux” you scoff. Mitaka didn’t respond verbally, only reacting with a small smirk.

“Anyway”, you place a hand on Mitaka’s forearm, “I’m exhausted and Hux has already requested”, you alter your voice to mimic Hux’s uptight tone and expressions, “I report to the bridge for my usual shift in the morning”. Mitaka smirks again at your impression.

“Breakfast?” Mitaka asks with a raised eyebrow as he takes a step away from you.

“Of course” you reply with a smile.

“Great, night!”, Mitaka spins to return to his earlier conversation with the other officer.

“Night!”

Content that you had seen Mitaka and that he was okay, you carry on down the corridor, finally reaching your quarters. As soon as you enter you head straight for your bed, you didn’t even have the energy to change into nightwear. You collapse to the bed below you, gasping when pain radiates outwards from your wound, you clutch it for a moment clenching your teeth together while you ride out the pain.

You remember the medication you had stuffed into your pocket, taking a pill before you turn over on to your side, closing your eyes. You had hoped sleep would quickly claim you.

But you could only manage around five minutes of sleep a time before images and sounds would start to taunt your unconscious mind. The blaster fire and screams. _Mainly the screams_. You toss and turn through the dreams, sweat trickling down your spine, the sheets beneath you now wet, before you would jolt awake. The same sequence repeating over and over for a couple of hours before you eventually decide to give up on sleep altogether.

You’d never experienced anything like this before, then again, you’d never been in the middle of battle like that before. You felt weak. You were supposed to be a fearless lieutenant of the First Order and now you couldn’t even sleep, _because of nightmares_.

You sit up in bed, no pain coming from your wound since taking the medication. Pondering on your apparent inadequacies and the newly available free time you had in the middle of the night, you decide to go to the shooting range. The least you could do was ensure you were more prepared for next time.

You change into a fresh uniform, the one you’d been wearing now too damp with sweat. You smooth a few strands of hair behind your ear before making your way out.

\----------

You walk into the shooting range, only a low light filled the room. On your right was a long row of around 30 shooting positions, all aiming at targets the other end of a large open space. The sound of high-pitched blasters echoed off the smooth walls, the uncomfortably familiar sound causing your heart to quicken slightly and sweat to start forming on your palms. It wasn’t busy at this time of night, only a stormtrooper in a position near the door and another officer much further down the row.

On the left wall of the large room were stands full of blasters, you check one out using the same identification number used for your monitors and doors. You take up a position somewhere between the stormtrooper and other officer, not wanting to be that close to anyone. Each shooting position had small shields on either side to prevent distractions while shooting, providing you with a small amount of privacy from the other individuals in the room. Each position also had a small surface to reload weapons and a stack of targets beneath for replenishment.

Your shooting position already had a target clipped in; you press a small button to send it whizzing backwards across the large open space. You stand front on, extending your arms out in front of you. One hand grips the handle, a finger on the trigger, while the other hand cups from beneath to steady your aim. Your muscles were trembling slightly the longer your held the position, your aim dancing across the target. You let out a long steady breath, attempting to relax your body somewhat and steady your aim. It didn’t work, growing equally impatient and frustrated, you squeeze the trigger. The loud noise emitted from the weapon ripped through the air around you, you squeeze your eyes shut in reaction. After a second you open your eyes, you squint to examine where you had hit the target, looks like shoulder. _You’d hit a lot of those recently_. You sigh, bringing your arms down and relaxing your stance. You register the stormtrooper behind you returning his weapon to the stands before leaving the room.

The sound of blaster fire ripped through the air again. Wanting to assess how well someone else could aim you lean over the small surface in front of you, the tops of your thighs pressing into the surface as you try leaning around the shield. All you could see was a set of gloved hands gripping firmly around a blaster, squeezing the trigger without pause, almost rhythmically, one after the other. You shift your gaze to their target, they’d hit the central part of their target every time, only a single hole growing slightly larger with every hit. _You need to practice more_. You slowly lean back into your own shooting position, readying yourself to fire again.

You take up the same position as before, your aim still dancing across the target. Letting out another breath you try closing your eyes to relax yourself. But the combination of blaster fire and your lack of vision grounding you to reality triggered those invasive images to consume your mind again. The sounds of people screaming mixed with commotion and blaster fire ripping through walls and people. Your breath starts to quicken again with each image flashing across your mind, as the images of the resistance fighters appear you instinctively pull the trigger, the abrupt sound forcing your eyes open. You stand there a moment, breathless, realising you hadn’t shot the blaster in your mind but right here.

“I thought you said you never missed a shot”

You turn your head to the side, despite knowing only a side shield was there. _Of course it had to be him_. You return your blaster to the small surface, leaning slightly as you try studying the target to see if you _really had completely missed_. All the while desperately trying to think of a comeback that would detract from your rising embarrassment.

You didn’t notice a set of heavy footsteps growing closer,

“Seems you’re in need of a lesson”, his voice now coming from directly behind you.

You quickly spin to see him just a pace behind you, his hands held firmly behind his back. His posture made him look even taller and shoulders broader. You look up at him, narrowing your eyes and pulling your lips into a straight line, attempting to look defiant despite the growing blush spreading across your cheeks.

Hux bounces on his heels slightly, a small grin forming across his lips,

“Do you need some help?” he asks smugly as he cocks his head to the side.

“I don’t need anything from you” you snap back.

Hux lets out a small snort as he rolls his shoulders to remove his greatcoat. He bends down slightly as he closes the gap between you,

“We’ll see about that” he purred, his smugness making your pulse race in irritation.

He moves to place his coat on the small surface of the neighbouring shooting position before removing his leather gloves. You stand in the same place, studying every small movement he made, ignoring the small flutter in your stomach as more of his frame was revealed without his coat and black leather gloves. You’re almost completely transfixed by him. _Almost_.

He stands in front of you again, his smug smile unmoving,

“Well go on” he says as he gestures towards the target with a bob of his head.

Your mouth drops open slightly as you narrow your eyes even more at him. _Was there no end to what he would do to embarrass you?_ You tense your jaw before moving your mouth, about to shoot some witty comeback at him but he cut you off before you could even say a single word.

“L/N”, he dragged out your name as he bounced on his heels again, “ I really have had enough of your mouth today”, he gestures to the target again.

Deciding to get this ordeal over quicker rather than fighting it you let out a huff as you turn to face the target again. You pick up the blaster again, extending it out in front of you, desperately trying to steady your aim so as not to make yourself look even more pathetic in front of him.

Hux lets out a small sigh from behind,

“As long as I’ve known you you’ve never used the correct stance”

Before you could spin back around to respond to his comment, he places his hands on either side of your hips, positioning your body with ease into a side-on stance. Your breath caught somewhere in your throat as soon as you felt his un-gloved hands on you, your hatred for him quickly dissipating as his touch and proximity silenced you into submission.

His hands were large, his fingers splayed, nearly covering each side of your hips. Without that single layer of leather encasing his hands, warmth radiated from his touch sparking that familiar tingling to rumble throughout every nerve ending. His left hand suddenly left your hip, leaving the area cold. He brings his hand up to cup beneath your own hand, which is steadying the blaster, to lift your aim a fraction. As he does so you can feel more of his chest press into your back, you bite your lip.

He then removes his hand from under your own, beginning to lightly drag his fingers up the underside of your arm all the way to your shoulder, leaving a trail of goose bumps in his wake. He rests his hand on your shoulder for a moment before delicately tucking a single strand of hair behind your ear. He lightly grazed the side of your cheek as he did so. You gulp. Finally feeling his bare skin on your own sent a shudder through your body, seizing all of your senses and muscles.

The intimacy had begun pooling in your core, a tingling sensation dancing across your pussy. Your need and desire for him increasing by the second, you desperately want to clear your thoughts by rubbing your thighs together to relieve _at least some_ of your need. But you resist out of fear he may realise your current predicament.

You move your head slightly to the left, moving your eyes in their sockets to catch a quick glance of Hux behind you. Your heart started pumping uncontrollably when you find his piercing green eyes already drinking you in, his perfectly formed lips slightly parted. You snap your head and eyes back to the target, slightly fearful of how your body may betray you in such an intensely intimate stare.

Hux begins to snake his hand back down the underside of your arm again, his movements were perfectly calculated to stoke the sparks of desire currently firing across your sex. His whole arm was now connected with yours as his hand cupped beneath your own, his right hand still firmly planted on your hip as he pressed his body even more into yours. He leans his head over your shoulder to whisper into your ear,

“Fire”

The combination of his commanding words and tone mixed with his hot breath fanning over your neck and ear makes you clench as you squeeze your eyes shut and pull the trigger. You quickly open your eyes to see you’d hit the centre of the target first time. You let out an audible shaky breath through parted lips. _You fucking hated it when he was right_.

Another second passed and neither you nor Hux had moved, you bodies still firmly connected. The only thing breaking the heavy atmosphere was the sound of you and him sharing shallow breaths, the rise and fall of your bodies in perfect sync.

Another couple of seconds and still neither one of you had moved, as if you were both too afraid to make the first move but also desperate not to let the moment end.

Hux’s fingertips started to twitch slightly on your hip before his splayed hand moved inwards a fraction towards your core. It took everything you had in that moment to supress the moan you wanted to let out at his slight movement. But you weren’t able to stop yourself from leaning back into him, pressing yourself against his front, craving more of his body.

Hux immediately responded, nuzzling his face between your shoulder and neck, taking your earlobe between his teeth before sucking. This time you couldn’t suppress your whimpering as he took your cool skin into his hot mouth. You cock your head to the right allowing him more access. Hux let out a small grunt as he releases your ear,

“I thought you didn’t need anything from me”, he whispers into your neck teasingly.

Your mind was foggy as your pleasure continued to mount but you try to regain some control of your situation.

“Mmmmm”, you squeeze your eyes shut, “I don’t” you breathe back. You were frantically trying to control your urges, _you hated the man after all_ , but all the while your body continued to react to him.

“Oh really” he pulls his mouth away from your neck, the area immediately becoming exposed and turning ice cold without him.

“No, wait!”, your eyes snap open as you reply a little too quickly, _a little too desperate_. Hux smirked, obviously satisfied he had you exactly where he wanted, before promptly returning his mouth to the area, his hot tongue running over the shell of your ear.

His grip on your hip intensified, sure to leave a purple handprint later, but you loved how tightly he was holding you. He starts kissing, nipping and sucking at you neck as he removed his arm from under yours, your own arms still outstretched with a blaster at this point. He laces his free hand around your waist as his right hand moves even further inwards, you felt completely encased under him, another bolt of attraction shoots through you.

Hux begins to lightly rock his crotch into you, even through your clothing you can feel his hardening length below, you moan as it grazes you from behind. You were desperate for more now, you wanted all of him, every inch you could get. _You could hate him again afterwards_. Each time Hux lightly thrust into you, you buck your butt backwards into him, feeling more and more of his cock each time you did so. Hux lets out a groan against your skin as you met every one of his thrusts, his kissing, nipping and sucking becoming more feverish with every thrust. You could practically feel the dampness seeping through your underwear, clenching your pussy every time he pressed into you, your clit aching for his attention as an internal coil tightened more and more.

You continue to rock into one another, a mixture of panting and small moans coming from you and Hux filled the otherwise silent room. He brings his left hand up from your waist to clutch one of your breasts, lightly tracing around your hardened nipple and squeezing. You immediately tip your head back against his chest, mouth agape from the pleasure he was sending through your body. You catch a glance of his lust-filled eyes looking down at you from behind, pupils blown from need, you flutter your eyes shut with a small moan at the sight of him.

Seeing his urgent craving for you painted across his face was the final thing before your body and mind completely surrendered to him in this moment. Your arm muscles, weakened from holding onto a blaster this whole time, finally relent, the blaster falling to the ground. Hux immediately seizes, voraciously spinning you around to face him and planting his hands on your waist to pull you flush against him again. Not wanting to waste any more time you feverishly bring your hands up to either side of his neck as you lean up, Hux leaning down, your lips millimetres apart when the door opens.

You both register and react to the sound at the same time, pushing away from one another with such force you both stumble back into the side shields of the shooting position. The shields, thankfully, hiding you somewhat from whoever had just entered.

You look at one another for a moment, ice cold water being thrown over your burning desire, which was now sizzling out, an awkwardness growing between you as you’re both brought back to reality. Neither one of you could hold the others gaze for very long. You both smooth down your uniforms. Hux is the first to move, retrieving his coat and gloves from the neighbouring shooting position while you retrieve the blaster from the floor.

“Ah, General”

It was Phasma.

“I don’t usually see you here so late”

Hux clears his throat as he pulls on his gloves,

“Well I didn’t shoot as many of those resistance fighters as I would have liked the other day” he replies with a forced smile. Phasma lets out a light chuckle beneath her mask.

“Her?” she gestures towards you with her head as you return the blaster to the stands on the left-hand wall.

Hux rolls his eyes,

“An officer who apparently can’t hit the middle of a target, I was going to help”, he pulls his hands behind his back, “but there’s far too much work needed for one night, pathetic really”, his usual look of disdain now covering his features again.

“Understood”, Phasma replies with a nod. Her voice portraying an element of humour as if it was an inside joke between her and Hux.

You powerwalk past the pair, keeping you eyes firmly on the ground but knowing that both had turned their heads to watch you walk away.

You keep your pace up all the way back to your quarters, not daring to slow at all in case you came across anyone.


	5. Interrogation

As you close the door to your quarters you lean back before slowly sliding down to the floor. Slightly out of breath from the hastened pace you had kept up, your light panting now filled the air around you. You bring your knees up to your chest before dropping your head as you try to decipher your own thoughts and feelings.

As much as you hated him, you hated yourself more for how much you still wanted him, even after everything.

In the shooting range you’d allowed yourself to give in to your desires, promising yourself that you would hate him again afterwards. But nothing had _technically_ happened, you hadn’t fully given in, you hadn’t even kissed… so by your own logic you didn’t have to hate him again quite yet. _Why shouldn’t you take what you want from him?_ It’s only what he had done to you. You shake your head, mildly ashamed at your trail of thoughts, before a flood of determination washed over you. _No_. You could use him as a means to an end, get what you want, get it out of your system, and then return to normal.

The determination didn’t last long before a more sobering sensation washed over you, you let out a sigh as you drop your head again. _No_. You couldn’t just use him because that would be him winning, _again_. As soon as he knew you wanted, _needed_ , him he would have the power over you. The only way you could hope to regain any kind of power over him now was to pretend the shooting range had never happened, treat him no differently, a perfectly professional relationship. Besides if that frustrating need persisted you knew Ren could always take care of you.

Content with your new game plan you push yourself off the ground and change into some nightwear. It was only a couple of hours before you’d be getting up again for the day, but you thought it wise to at least try getting some sleep, you didn’t want to start donning the same bags Hux had under his eyes.

You pull the thin covers up over your chest as you close your eyes. A few minutes had passed, none of the intrusive thoughts or images returning to haunt you again. Instead, you only saw _him_. As if the outline of his face and features were etched on the inside of your eyelids. Sleep eventually claims you, images of Hux the last thing you remembered.

\----------

You awake at the usual time and begin readying yourself for the day. You enter the refresher to look in the mirror, despite your best efforts, dark circles had formed prominently under your eyes. The effects of the attack, being shot and now only getting a couple of hours rest finally catching up with your body. Your eyes drift down to your neck and shoulder, a dusting of light purple covering your pale skin. You lean in close to the mirror bringing your fingers to lightly brush over the marks, exploring them in the reflection. Something about Hux marking you made you want to smile but also cry in frustration, him marking you was just another power play, you had no doubt he did it for this exact reaction. You huff moving your fingers away from the area to survey your blaster wound, the area had scabbed up well enough to not bother you too much now.

You brush your hair into a high ponytail before looking at your reflection once more, sighing as you accept there was nothing more you could do to improve your appearance.

You thread your arms through your uniform jacket and do up the zip before heading to the mess hall to meet Mitaka.

You grab a black coffee, the only form of nutrition you needed this morning was caffeine. You pick out Mitaka’s shiny dark hair amongst the bustle of other officers before sluggishly making your way over.

“Morning”, you force a pleasant tone that didn’t come naturally to you this time of day.

“Hi” Mitaka replies with a small smile and genuine tone. His smile faltered as he took in more of your appearance.

You notice him staring as you take your seat and roll your eyes,

“Do I really look that bad?” you ask defensively.

Mitaka paused, no doubt trying to find a diplomatic response. One wrong move and he knew he would suffer the consequences of your morning mood.

“No” he replied with a heavily strained voice, trying to avoid direct eye contact.

You smile back at him, informing him that you knew he was lying, which he promptly mirrors, although somewhat cautiously.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“Yeah something like that”, you grew increasingly self-conscious that your face was turning as red as Ren’s lightsabre as you recalled the events of last night.

“We should probably head off early, I heard the General is on the warpath this morning”

Your first thought was to smile at the comment, he probably was feeling rather _frustrated_ this morning, what with not finishing what he started last night. But then you start considering how he might be around you now after last night. There was no doubt in your mind how last night would have finished if you weren’t interrupted. _But what would any of it mean? Would he be nicer to you? Or is he more likely to treat you much the same, shrugging last night off as nothing?_ Your mind wasn’t giving you the answers you wanted, it probably was for the best that it didn’t go further. You remind yourself of the game plan: pretend nothing happened, professionalism at all times, regain the power.

You nod at Mitaka, careful not to give your frantic thoughts away, before gulping down the last of your coffee.

You and Mitaka walked into the bridge side by side, Hux was stood in the centre of the large space, his body facing towards the large windows as he studied something on his datapad. He somehow knew you were there, immediately turning his head to see you and Mitaka. His lip had turned upwards, his nose slightly scrunched, and his brows pulled together. Just his usual look of disdain and disgust he usually greeted officers with, though it gave you a slight thrill to think of his expressions being from jealousy over Mitaka.

Mitaka peeled away from you, heading towards his own station, as you continue on to your own beneath the large windows. You can feel Hux’s eyes tracking you all the way, something about his intensity sending a shiver up your spine after last night. You shake it off, reminding yourself: _pretend nothing happened, professionalism at all times, regain the power_.

You sit to assess the map covering your monitor, by your calculations at the current speed you would be docking at Luma tomorrow for re-fuelling. The name of the planet rang a bell at the back of your head. From what you could remember back at the Academy there was a First Order base on Luma which had above average teachings of navigations. You could use the re-fuel as opportunity to try and recruit some more officers. Satisfied with your plans you print off the calculations indicating tomorrow as the docking time as well as some other calculations and costings for how much fuel you would be needing.

You walk across the bridge, Hux was for some reason talking to Mitaka, who stood behind his station. The conversation seemed tense. Again, as if he somehow knew you were there, he turned his head to see you approaching him, he immediately left Mitaka mid-sentence as he strode over to close the distance.

“General, Sir. I have projected us reaching Luma for re-fuelling tomorrow, approximately 12:00”, you extend a hand to give him the papers, he considerers you a moment longer before accepting them to flick through, “I’ve also included calculations and costings for the re-fuel”.

The silence between you extended as he continued to flick through your work, he didn’t address you at all. You were relieved at his continued professionalism considering recent events, not that it should surprise you really.

“I was also thinking”, Hux finally lifts eyes off the papers to meet you, “there is a First Order base on Luma which is supposed to have quite good teachings of navigations… so I could visit during the re-fuel to recruit additional officers”

Hux’s eyes left your own, moving to something in the distance as he considered your proposal. Finally raising his brows and pressing his lips together,

“I have no problem with that”

“Thank y-“

“I will accompany you to the base”

Your eyebrows knit together in confusion, you being alone with Hux would not help the game plan. _Pretend nothing happened, professionalism at all times, regain the power. Pretend nothing happened, professionalism at all times, regain the power,_ you repeat to yourself over and over.

“Is that really necessary Huxie?” you blurt with a roll of your eyes.

_Okay so professionalism has already been thrown out_. Hux’s face immediately crumpled into disgust at your use of the nickname.

“Lieutenant L/N, don’t make me sanction punishments for your insubordination”

You felt as if every one of your cells had somehow been ignited by excitement, relishing in the challenge he set you. You take a small step closer to him. Your eyes were level with his chest,

“Something tells me”, you move your eyes up to his, “that you’d like to do the punishing yourself” you whisper.

_And there goes pretending that nothing happened between you_.

The General’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped, holding your eyeline the whole time. His head cantered down a fraction,

“You look tired _officer_ ”, he made sure to really spit the ‘officer’ part to irritate you, “… trouble sleeping?” he asked in a quieter tone, an almost imperceptible upturn at the corners of his mouth.

_Aaaaand there goes regaining the power_.

You could practically feel the smugness radiate off him at his implication. The game plan was well and truly out of the window by this point so you try thinking of something that would hurt him, remembering the way he always acted when you were around Mitaka or Ren even,

“Don’t flatter yourself General… I have plenty of options should I need them”

Hux’s jaw tensed in response about to shoot something back at you.

“General Hux, Lieutenant L/N” interrupted a heavily modified voice from the bridge entrance, he always seemed to have perfect timing.

You and Hux both turned your heads in perfect unison to the source of the voice. A swirl of black swiftly made its way over to where you and Hux stood.

“I’ve come to collect L/N to begin interrogations”

“Ren I-” Hux began,

But Ren swiftly silenced him with a lift of a single finger angled at his face,

“You are not required to speak”, Ren lowered his hand before turning his head to you, “follow”.

Before you could respond Ren had already begun storming out of the bridge. You make the time to shoot Hux a sarcastic smile as you begin walking away. If looks could kill Hux would have you on the floor.

You hasten your pace, you’d already lost Ren around the corner, picking up to a light jog to catch up with him.

You more or less stare at the back of Ren’s black cloak the whole way to the interrogation room. Not noticing which level he pressed in the lift or the different twists and turns he took around the labyrinth of different corridors. Your inability to take in your surroundings meant you weren’t entirely sure what part of the ship you were on.

You follow him into a relatively small circular room, an interrogation chair situated in the middle, the lifeless body of Alula strapped in. The circular walls were filled with different tools used for interrogation, just their presence was threatening enough without having them used on you. You pause a moment, no longer following Ren behind the chair, as you look at her, you gulp.

Her face was bloodied, strands of her blonde hair stuck to her face, there had obviously already been _some_ interrogation of her. She still had her First Order trousers on with just a black short sleeved under top on.

“She’s just unconscious” Ren’s now natural un-modified voice cut through the silence. _Did he seriously think you were scared or worried that she was already dead?_ That’s exactly what you wanted anyway, she was a traitor, a spy.

“I know” you state back confidently, looking him in the eye.

Ren smirks slightly at your demeanour.

“Are you going to let her see you without the mask” you say gesturing towards the mask he still held down by his side.

“No” he smirked, “that’s just for you”

Your body recoiled slightly at his words; you take a small step back, quickly removing your eyes from his. You think of how to quickly diffuse the situation,

“What’s that?” you ask as you outstretch an arm to point at the pit of what looked like dust.

He looked down to where you were pointing, slowly making his way round to the other side of the pit.

“The ashes of my enemies” he stated back coldly.

Your eyebrows raise as your eyes widen, nodding your head slightly,

“Fair enough”

He smirked at your understated response. Most would probably recoil, be scared, but not you. It was mildly refreshing to see Ren as a formidable member of the First Order that could actually help, rather than a petulant child.

His face became more serious again,

“Have you ever considered you might have the force?”

You scoff, _bloody force users_ , think the whole galaxy revolves around them.

“No, why?”

Ren’s tone became darker, more venomous, as he picked up on your negative opinions around force users from your tone alone,

“You claim you _felt_ something was off on the bridge before the attack and about her” he snaps.

“That’s just intuition, not the force. I don’t need some”, you use air quotes, “special mystical powers to identify when something is not right, I have military training for that” you spit back defiantly, almost surprising yourself with the tone you were taking with the Commander.

Ren’s features tensed further,

“You’re as bad as Hux” he replied in a quieter tone as he turned his head to Alula.

“Excuse me” you ask folding your arms in front of you.

He replaces his mask, Alula now beginning to stir slightly against her restraints.

“Stand behind her”

You did as he said, Ren circling around to stand in front of her. No doubt wanting the first thing she saw to send terror through her, you couldn’t help but admire him ever so slightly for that.

A small groan came from Alula, you remain behind her trying to be a still as possible. For whatever reason Ren didn’t want her knowing you were in here just yet, but you were desperate to see the expression on her face when she saw the commanding figure of Ren in front of her, only a lifeless mask where his humanity should be.

Ren takes a step closer, tutting from behind his mask as he did so,

“Where did the resistance find you?” he asked, though his vocoder removed most signs of humanity you could still pick up on the undercurrents of his tone, he was toying with her, playing with his food.

She only groaned in response, evidently still coming round to full consciousness.

“You bore me” Ren states without expression, extending a hand out towards her face. The screams of pain that quickly followed informed you that he was invading her mind. You’d never experienced it to that degree, Ren had been able to access surface thoughts and emotions, ones that you had been projecting. But you’d never had your mind literally torn apart by his invasiveness. Fortunately most of the high ranking officers had picked up tricks and methods on keeping things concealed from the temperamental force user during their tenure.

Ren finally pulled away, Alula now gasping for air.

“How… disappointing… I was hoping for something a little more interesting. Nothing more than a lost girl… uninteresting enough to blend in with the First Order military… they turned you while you recovered from injuries sustained from Starkiller base… the only useful thing about you being your job as General Hux’s assistant”

“And yet here I am”, you could see she had lifted her head off the chair behind as she spat back, “how many officers did you lose again?” she asked with a forced, almost psychotic laugh.

Ren didn’t hesitate, using the force he slammed her head back into the chair behind her, her laugh quickly dissipating into audible desperate breaths. He took another step closer as he rounded to one side of her, he brought his mask down level with her face.

“You were so obvious that even a non-force user could sniff you out, just days after your return”

“It didn’t stop us though” she quickly replied.

Ren’s mask cantered up towards you, over the shoulder of Alula, which you took to mean that you should now make yourself known. You straightened your back, placing your hands firmly behind you as you lifted your chin a fraction more. You walk slowly, hoping the footsteps growing closer to Alula would frighten her, you notice her desperately try to move her head around to see who was coming but the restraints constricted her movements.

You finally come into view of her, her mouth drops open for a second before she narrows her eyes,

“You” she hisses through clenched teeth.

You couldn’t help but smile sadistically down to her at the reaction as you continue to make your way to stand in front of her. Ren’s attention was switching between the faces of you and Alula before he cut through the air,

“She’s annoyed Lieutenant, appears you scuppered her plans to kill the General”

You press you lips together, a small smile pulling at your lips as your eyebrows raised, a look of pleasure that you had been successful in preventing her attempts.

“Well… now that _is_ interesting… she thinks you harbour feelings for the General”, his tone was cold and calculated, revelling in the thoughts he was uncovering from Alula’s mind. Your heart had started racing, but you didn’t allow your rising panic to spread to your face. Anger begins to replace the initial wave of panic, this pathetic officer who tried to kill Hux was now going to land you in the shit.

“I know she does!” Alula cuts through with a raised voice.

You scoff,

“Really Alula? Let’s not pretend here…”, you take a couple of steps closer, your posture still impeccable, “you were a naïve little girl, no discernible skills, talent or flare… the only interesting thing in your pathetic little life was your boss… you’d already fallen for him, hadn’t you?”, you didn’t wait for her to answer, “and now you’re embarrassed about that girlish crush and you want to turn the situation into something it’s not”

She considered you for a moment, her eyes narrowing,

“I know what I saw” she stated back ominously.

You felt the blood in you veins congeal as you froze in panic, though it didn’t show outwardly. _What did she see?_ Your facial expressions were unmoving as you frantically bury any interaction you had ever had with him in the deepest corners of your mind.

“What did you see? Ren asks excitedly.

“The way she looked at him… jealous whenever she saw him with me… the way she stood too close to him… and him with her… the way… the way…”

“Go on” Ren encourages her, _that fucking child_.

“The way he would change after he spoke to her… or about her”

You press your lips together into a straight line as you take another step closer. The anger boiling again, bringing you out of your frozen state. You weren’t sure what angered you more, the fact that Ren was revelling in all of this, the thought that your interactions with Hux had clearly been far too obvious to other officers or that she was right about everything she saw, as much as you didn’t want to admit it. You regain your composure by reminding yourself that you were a Lieutenant of the First Order and there was no way a pitiful traitor would take you down with her accusations, a new sense of determination and confidence pumped through your veins. But also something else, a sense that you wanted to protect Hux from such allegations too, not that he deserved any protection from you.

You lower your head down to her level, the mask of Ren hovering just the other side of her body also by her head. You feigned a concerned look as you placed a hand on her shoulder,

“I’m sure you would have liked me to be jealous of you… I’m sure you convinced yourself that I looked at him differently or stood too close because I was threatened by you… but unfortunately, you re-direct your attention to Ren, “and somewhat more _boringly_ ”, you return your attention back to Alula, “my attentions are focussed solely on the success of the First Order. Which is how I was able to identify your deceit and is how I am now going to get you to reveal the location of the resistance’s base”

You return to your full height, removing your hand and shooting her a sinister smile. There was a noticeable rise and fall of her chest as she looked back at you, shooting daggers with her eyes.

Ren also returned to his full height, you could tell he had grown bored at the interaction, no longer as salacious as he would have liked.

“So”, you raise your eyebrows questioningly, “are you going to make this easy or hard on yourself?”

She gave you no answer. The anger this girl was making you feel was now at boiling point, in one swift fluid motion you raise your hand and slap her hard across the cheek. Her head turned dramatically with the force you sent through her, the other side of her face hitting the interrogation chair beneath her. You pressed your lips together again as your surveyed your damage. Meanwhile you could practically feel the excitement radiating off of Ren, but you ignore him.

You bend down to her level again,

“Answer” you whisper aggressively.

“I won’t tell you anything” she spits back.

You smile back at her, which must have confused her for a moment, your eyes widening.

“Good” you reply, a sickeningly sweet tone covering your words. You looked over her heaving body to meet the mask of Ren, “Kylo” you simply state before returning to your full height. It wasn’t until after the name left your lips that you realised you had just addressed the Commander by his first name, a mild twinge of concern tugged at you, but it didn’t seem to bother Ren. As soon as you had stood back up, he took a step closer to begin peeling back the layers of her mind, essentially obeying you.

As you watched the ensuing torturous act of Ren locating the information needed you couldn’t help but feel slightly drunk on power. You’d managed to deflect the accusations of Alula, making her out to be a weak willed child with a crush, and commanded Ren like he was nothing more than a low ranking officer. You understood why Hux liked to bark orders at everyone, the power was intoxicating.

The shrill shrieks from Alula finally subsided as Ren pulled away,

“They’re at D’Qar, on the outer rim”

You nod back, smiling,

“Good, then we shall soon have them in our sights, snuff out the resistance for good”, you turn to look at Alula.

She was still clutching on to some remnants of consciousness. You continue to look down at her, your eyes filled to the brim with hatred for her, you wanted your face to be the last thing she saw before slipping away forever. Ren moved to stand beside you, also looking down.

You both observed her close her eyes for the final time. A sense of satisfaction filled you, the girl who had betrayed the First Order and who had tried to kill Hux finally getting what she deserved.


	6. Finally

The hiss of Ren removing his mask filled the now silent interrogation room, pulling you from your wandering thoughts about Alula getting precisely what she deserved.

You give Ren a side glance, “will you add her to your pit of ashes?” you ask with a hint of joviality.

Ren smirked back at you as he took a step closer to observe Alula’s lifeless body,

“She wasn’t my enemy, just a pawn of the resistance”, he turns to look back at you, “she thought of you as her enemy though”

“Pathetic, really” you spit back defiantly, somewhat pleased you had such an affect on her.

Ren canters his head downwards, looking down his nose at you, his dark waves falling by his cheeks, he takes a step closer again, his eyes seemed to grow darker,

“I underestimated your thirst for power Lieutenant, you enjoy inflicting pain to get what you want”, he takes another step closer, lowering the pitch of his voice to a whisper, “don’t you?”

You shrug your shoulders,

“As much as the next officer of the First Order, we’re all the same really, aren’t we?”

“No, some are meant for greater things”. He takes another step closer, now practically on top of you, your feet almost touching.

You arch your neck back to look up at him, your brows knitted in confusion at his actions. He lowers his head, bringing his mouth close to your ear to whisper,

“For what it’s worth… I wish it had been you that got that promotion all those years ago… something tells me I would have had a lot more fun with you around rather than General Hux”, he lifts a single finger to brush down your cheek, you gulp.

Your internal panic was rising, you try taking a step back away from him, but he swiftly snakes a hand around your waist to bring you flush against his chest.

“What’s wrong? We did agree on _another time_ , didn’t we? And since our mission was aborted…”, his words dripped with pure desire as he cocked his head to the side.

Your heart started beating faster as you remembered his words back in the office, right before Hux had come marching in. But Hux wasn’t coming this time, the thought made your stomach twist in knots as your heart started racing ferociously now. You squirm against him, trying to free yourself from his grasp to no avail.

“I think we should inform General Hux of the resistance’s base” you stutter back at him.

He smirks back,

“You’d rather see him than be here with me”

You knew his words did not have a deeper meaning, but you couldn’t stop your mind from swirling with thoughts that he was referencing something else, something you were still denying to yourself.

“No… Gods no… I hate the man”, the conviction of your words would have been enough to convince anyone that wasn’t you of their sincerity, “I’m just excited to start planning our attack”

“You continue to surprise me Lieutenant… I’ll find you when I need you”

The ominous nature of his final words sent a shiver through your body, you could do without the childish needs of Ren. He releases you from his grip, you don’t hesitate to put as much distance between you and him as you could, making your way to the door.

As you walked down the corridor you started wishing that you had paid more attention to your location on the way here. You quicken your pace, marginally worried that Ren may follow.

You finally come across a bank of turbolifts, you sigh with relief when you reach the control panel to call a lift. As the doors slowly open you hurry inside, selecting the bridge level before the doors close behind you once again.

You lean against the back wall of the lift, as it whirred to life climbing the countless levels. You let the events of the interrogation replay in your mind, satisfied with how you performed despite the curveball from Alula. The lift quickly slowed again to stop at one of the levels. As the doors slowly open your eyes immediately connect with the bright green of Hux’s eyes.

You immediately avert your gaze at seeing him as you stand to attention. You could do without being stuck in a confined space with him right now, he was probably still pissed after your interaction on the bridge. Hux also seemed to falter, as though he were asking himself if it was a good idea. But he quickly straightens himself again, pulling his shoulders back before stepping into the lift, standing in front of you and pressing one of the buttons.

As the doors begin slide shut again, the air became increasingly heavy as if all the oxygen was being sucked out. A low hum intensifies as the lift soon begins to shoot upwards. You stare at the black coat covering his shoulders as he continues to look straight ahead. The hands he held behind his back beginning to twitch, capturing your attention.

Without turning to you,

“Did you get the information needed from Alula?”

“Yes, D’Qar”

He simply nods in response.

The lift suddenly shakes violently as it comes to an abrupt stop, causing both you and Hux to take a step back to steady your balance. Hux quickly moves to the control panel to try pressing the button for his floor, his pressing becoming increasingly aggressive the more nothing happened.

“I don’t think it’s working” you say softly.

“Oh really?” Hux asks sarcastically, turning his head over his shoulder to regard you.

You just roll your eyes back at him. He huffs as he returns his attention to the control panel, pressing the ‘call’ button.

“This is Hux”, you roll your eyes again at the authoritative tone he was choosing to take with a control panel, “what has happened to my lift?”

A pause.

“S-sorry General Hux Sir, there have been maintenance issues with some of the lifts ever since the attack”, the crackly voice of the male officer paused a moment, “I have already sent maintenance crews to solve the issue Sir”

“Well make sure they hurry, I don't have all day", he positions himself even closer to the small speaker to speak directly into it, "or I’ll ensure you and your maintenance crews face severe punishments”

You scoff at his words. Hux’s shoulders tense up as he hears you mocking him from behind, he spins around, a sense of determination flooding his face and posture as he opens his mouth, about to say something, but the sudden lack of light stopped him, the lift now shrouded in complete darkness.

You take a step back to press your back into the wall for support, your breathing becoming quicker. There was a flicker as the low light of the back-up lights came to life. The light was just enough to still see around the lift.

“Perfect” Hux comments sarcastically as he sighs.

Your mind began to whirl, the thought of being trapped in the small dark space triggered something in your mind, the memory of the last time you were in a lift with Hux, the blood, the fear. The lack of light only intensified the images starting to reappear, you began to hear screams and blaster fire again, so realistic you thought they were in the lift with you. Your eyes frantically flickered in their sockets looking for the blaster fire you believed was present. Your frenzied breathing bringing you closer to the brink of hyperventilation, you took in desperate deep breaths when you faintly register a set of hands grasping your upper arms.

“L/N?!” a muffled voice almost breaks through the invasive images still flashing across your eyes.

Your mind projects the resistance fighters walking into the office, you see the one that almost hit you with his blaster fire, sweat now beading across your forehead as a few droplets trickle down your temple. Your abundant intake of oxygen was causing you to go slightly light-headed, but your balance was unaffected as the set of hands held firmly on to your arms.

“L/N?!”, the voice was slightly clearer this time but not enough to break you free from the images.

You remember the way Mitaka suddenly disappeared from the holoprojector, the sickening fear you had felt. Then you picture Alula lifting her blaster to shoot, how close she had been to killing Hux.

“Y/N?!”, the voice a loud shout now, the use of your first name finally enough to break through to the centre of your consciousness.

Hux pulled on your upper arms to bring you into his chest before moving his hands round to your upper back, you fight against him, not fully recognising it as him as the images of resistance fighters continue to consume your vision. You bring your hands up to his chest as you try pushing away, contorting your body in different angles to escape the grasp, but his grip was unfaltering.

Hux bows his head to hover over your shoulder, his cheek lightly grazing your own,

“It’s me, you know me”, the tone of his whisper was comfortingly authoritative, almost able to conceal his undercurrent of concern entirely.

You whimper quietly, his voice and words finally penetrating your mind enough to recognise him. A wave of relief washed over you to sweep you away from the haunting images. Relaxing into him, you rest the side of your cheek against his chest, breathing heavily against his uniform. Hux presses his hands into your back even more, rubbing small circles into your back as he rests his chin on your shoulder. After a moment he brings a hand to the side of your head, pressing your cheek into his chest, encasing you as he rests his chin atop of your head.

You both stay like this for an undeterminable amount of time. The images and sounds there before were now slowly floating away into atoms as your breathing steadied. The faint thump and vibrations of Hux’s heart against your ear calming you further. You didn’t understand how a man who could be so cruel and hurt you so much could also make you feel so safe and protected. The words he used a moment ago, were purely to comfort you, no ulterior motive, no power plays, just complete sincerity.

A few more moments had passed. Hux slowly removes his chin from your head as both hands return to grip your upper arms, you lift your cheek off his chest. He looks at you a moment before moving his head to press his forehead against yours, squeezing his eyes shut as he makes contact.

You stare back at his face, his smooth skin somehow still perfectly visible to you even with the lowered light. Hux opens his eyes again, looking straight back at you. You both breathe through parted lips.

“How long has this been going on for” he asks quietly.

“It’s nothing” you reply unconvincingly, not wanting to discuss any possible weakness with him.

“It’s normal you know, to have flashbacks or nightmares after such an attack”

“It’s nothing”, you reply dryly as you avoid eye contact with him, afraid that if you did you wouldn't be able to stop the tears threatening to fall.

Hux knew better than to try again, simply pressing his forehead against yours even more, his way of trying to show some level of concern. You finally meet his eyes again as you both pause in the moment, both momentarily flickering your eyes between the eyes and lips of the other.

For a moment your heart swelled within your chest, the familiarity of him, the way he was making you feel right now. Your conflicted mind continually switching between the perception of him being untrustworthy but also the only person who could make you feel safe. The longer you stay in your position the more you lean into him, the game plan you had earlier melting away into insignificance, the last of your resolve melting away with it. You knew you would more than likely regret it, but at this moment in time you didn’t care, your world was filled with him, and only him.

You both widen your parted lips a fraction more, exchanging warm breaths onto the other’s lips, your lips so close they occasionally ghosted one another. Hux stared into your eyes once more before squeezing his eyes shut and closing the last gap of air between you both. His soft plump lips gently pressing into yours, _finally_. 

Your heart was racing, sending blood to every organ, muscle and nerve ending in your body making you feel more alive than ever before.

The kiss was soft, almost tender, and familiar, it felt like you were welcoming one another home. The prolonged softness between you both sent butterflies throughout your entire body.

Almost in sync you both move to deepen the kiss, tongues passing through the other’s lips, the initial tenderness quickly replaced by desperate cravings for one another. You both suck in a sharp intake of air through your noses, Hux smooths his hands up your arms to rest on your lower neck and upper chest. You move your hands to cup his cheeks, your thumb lightly smoothing over his soft skin.

Your tongues both feverishly explore the other’s mouth in a hot wet mess, the kiss becoming increasingly deep. Hux moans into your mouth, the sound and vibrations of his pleasure flooded your body with warmth and desire for him.

Hux begins to push you back, as you take a step back, he takes a step forward, your kiss never breaking. You finally make contact with the wall behind you with a slight thump, you moan into his mouth as you do so. Hux presses his body against yours, pinning you against the wall behind. The weight of his body pushed up against you sent another bolt of attraction through your veins.

You move your hands up to his hair, burying your fingertips in his copper strands, pulling ever so slightly. Hux moans into you again as you do so, you smile into him, unable to suppress the satisfaction it gave you to hear him moan.

Hux’s hands snake to the top of your collar, his smooth calculated movements quickly taken over by frantic desperation to find the zip. Once he finally found it, he violently ripped the zip down your jacket. You finally break the kiss, both slightly breathless, you look up to him as he looks down on you before moving his hands to push the jacket off your shoulders, leaving you in just a short sleeved black V-neck under top. You move your hands down to rest on his chest as he takes a gloved finger to lightly trace over the now exposed bruises he left last night, a smug smile taking over his features before he moves to gently kiss the marks. You tip your head back against the lift wall to give him more access, your eyes closed from pleasure.

He pulls back to take in your face, bringing a leather clad hand to stroke the side of your cheek, you open your eyes, quickly grabbing hold of his wrist pulling it away from your face. His brows knit together in confusion as you bite you lip back at him.

“I want to see more” you state seductively yet ominously.

You bring his hand down before taking his middle and index fingers into your mouth, your tongue massaging against his fingers as you took in the taste of warm leather. You begin to slowly retract his fingers from where you still gripped his wrist, stopping until it was just his fingertips remaining. Hux continues to stare down at you the whole time, lust and admiration consuming his eyes as he breathed through parted lips. You clamp your teeth down on the leather and move his hand back further to remove the leather glove. The glove hung limply between your teeth before you release your grip, letting it fall to the ground, never removing your eyes from his. His newly exposed flesh excited you, you return the same fingers back to your hot mouth to suck feverishly, his eyes flutter in pleasure as you do so. You pull his fingers out with a sloppy pop before repeating the same actions with his other hand.

Wanting even more of him you redirect your attention to his collar, moving your hands to look for that same zip to undress him. As you do so Hux brings a hand around your neck to pull your hair out of its ponytail before bringing his other hand around to nestle it amongst your fallen strands, massaging your scalp as he did so.

You pull down the zip as far as his belt to reveal a slither of his bare chest, his pale skin wrapping over his lean yet muscular body. You slip one hand under the fabric to feel the warmth of his bare chest as the other clutches his waist, under the greatcoat he was still wearing but over his jacket. You begin gently kissing his warm skin, gradually moving lower and lower. Both of your hands beginning to slide down as you kiss, eventually locating the waistband of his trousers. But Hux quickly retracts his hands from your hair to grab hold of your wrists removing them from his crotch area and pushing them against the wall,

“All good things L/N”, desire dripped from his voice as he made you wait, his darkened eyes boring into you.

You stare up at him, gulping down the saliva you had been creating ever since you started making your way down to his cock. You lick your lips, noticing Hux catch his breath as you did so. He lets out a small growl as his mouth crashed against yours again, sucking on your lower lip and biting before kissing again. He releases one of your pinned hands to move his own to your breasts, switching his attention between them both to knead and squeeze as he continued kissing and pushing his body against yours. With your one free hand you wrap it against his neck to pull him against you.

He pushes a leg between your own, connecting both of your cores. You moan into him as warmth pooled in your core from his intimacy. His hardened length once again rocking into you, rubbing against your slit.

"I'm finishing what I started last night" he growled between kisses as his rocking increased.

You break away from the kiss,

“Hux?” you breathe

“Hmmmm” he moans back before kissing between your neck and shoulder.

“I need you”, a blush creeping across your face from the embarrassment of your admission.

He pulls back to take in your lust-hazed face, a small smile forming as he leans in slightly,

“Where do you need me?” he whispers seductively.

You swallow, your free hand nervously playing with a few strands of his hair as you avoid his question. He raises an eyebrow before swiftly taking the hand that had been on your breasts to smack it against your sex, cupping it,

“Here?”

You whimper at the sudden contact, the nodding motion of your head becoming increasingly exaggerated as you stare back at him.

His fingers twitch slightly, making you immediately tip your head back again as your mouth drops open.

You hear a smirk from Hux before he removes his hands from your body, crouching down so he’s level with your core. He places his hands on your hips, slowly moving them inwards and hooking under your waistband, ripping your trousers down to your ankles.

You gasp at his act of aggression.

Hux pulls of your boots chucking them over his shoulder with little regard before removing your trousers. He runs a single finger slowly down the slit of your lips, over your black dampened underwear. You let out a shaky breath as you bring your head off the wall to look down at him. Continuously staring at your core he finally hooks his fingers under your underwear to slowly bring them down your legs before removing them completely. You try repositioning to get a wider stance, allowing him easier access.

“So eager” Hux smirks as he looks up at you, a devilish glint in his eye, you swallow again.

He takes a firm hold of your left thigh, lifting it to rest over his shoulder as he shuffles himself closer to your pussy. One of his hands gripping the thigh over his shoulder and the other on your hip bone. Both of your hands were now gripping his head for stability, buried amongst his soft hair, massaging slightly against his scalp.

Hux lays a thick wet line with his tongue on the inside of your thigh, painfully close to where you really wanted him. He repeats the same motion with the other thigh, lapping up your secreted pleasure. He looks up to you as he licks his lips, you press your lips together trying to suppress the primal moan you wanted emit at the image.

“I’ve missed this taste” he hums up at you before swiftly burying his tongue amongst your folds, his nose grazing over your clit as he finds his rhythm. You arch your back, mouth dropping open again as you gasp, his tongue now feverishly exploring you.

“Oh General” you moan as he picks up his pace.

He moans back at you in response, the vibrations of his moan reverberating through you, adding an extra layer of pleasure upon your pussy. You dig your fingertips into his scalp as your back arches even more under him, your pleasure mounting quickly. Hux presses your hipbone into the wall trying to keep you in place as you squirm under his touch.

His tongue slowly starts to move closer to your clit until he finally finds the bundle of nerves, his tongue swishing around before finally sucking on it. You thrust your pussy into his face for more, but he quickly holds you back in place. You clench, sending a shiver of pleasure up through your body, your breathing becoming more frantic as you quickly approach your climax.

“Hux?” you breathe.

He didn’t respond, his face still buried in you.

“Hux… I’m… I’m… close”

Hux abruptly pulls his face away from you, licking his lips again before looking up at you. You moan in protest at your approaching climax being taken away so abruptly. Your brows knit together as you look down on him,

“What the fuck?” you breathe

“Patience L/N” he said as he stood to his full height again. His tone was calculated like he had a plan, you knew he wasn’t done with you yet.

But patience was not your best virtue, you rest a hand on his cheek as you arch your head up to kiss him. You could still taste yourself on his tongue. As you were both pre-occupied with the deepening kiss you take your free hand to quickly slither it under his waistband, worried he might try to stop you again. Your hand finally finds his cock, taking it into your hand, you begin lightly pumping him. Your kiss falters slightly as Hux seems to forget how to move his tongue whilst you were putting so much attention on his member.

But he soon kissed back again even more feverishly, his hands on your waist. You pull away from the kiss, taking back both hands to find the zipper of his trousers, he didn’t stop you this time, not that he would be able to if he tried.

You finally free his cock, it practically springing free from the captivity of his trousers. You crouch down level with him as you take in the sight. Even with the lowered light, you could see the red hue covering his throbbing length and the small glint of pre cum catching what little light there was on his tip. You lick your lips, looking up to him one last time. His eyes were dark with desire again, he tangles his fingers amongst your hair.

You hold him at his base, applying a light pressure as you took his tip into your warm mouth. You heard him take in a sharp inhale. You begin teasing his tip with your tongue as your hand slowly moves up and down.

As you take more of his cock into your mouth, your hand moves from his base to cup his balls, you feel him twitch against your tongue, encouraging you to continue. You moan against him in your mouth before hollowing your cheeks to suck him with a meaningful rhythm. You took in more and more until he hit the back of your throat, Hux trying to control your rhythm with his grip nestled in your hair. Hux’s light panting was broken intermittently with hums and moans from your actions, his feedback only spurring you on to do more, you wanted to send him over the edge, you wanted to be the cause of his shuddering pleasure, you wanted to taste him.

Hux’s breaths were becoming more ragged as his cock twitched more regularly, you happily humming against him. But without warning he takes a step back to remove his member from your mouth, you look up at him in disappointment as you bring the back of your hand up to remove the saliva coating your lips.

He took a step closer again, placing his hands on your cheeks as he looked down,

“Not yet… I want to be inside you”

You flutter your eyes shut at his words as he guides you back up to your full height.

Without warning he places his hands under your thighs to lift you up, you wrap your legs around him, his cock grazing your pussy as you did so. He presses his body against you to push you into the wall behind as he connects your mouths again.

After a moment he readjusts his balance slightly as he takes his cock to line up with your entrance, just his tip grazing your entrance had you clenching.

Finally, he pushes into you,

“Ah fuck” he hisses, returning his hand to under your thigh.

He stretched you open as he pushed himself all the way in before starting to kiss you again. He allowed you a moment to adjust, the initial pain you felt quickly subsiding into mounting pleasure. The feeling of him inside you, filling you, made you catch your breath. You snake your hands around his neck as you deepen the kiss more. Taking your actions as permission he begins thrusting into you, quickly finding his rhythm.

“Fuck, Hux” you breathe into his ear, before tipping your head back.

“You feel amazing” he whispers between his rugged breaths, “and all for me”.

His words made you clench, causing a growl from him as your walls closed in on his cock even more. Spurred on by you, he lifts you from the underside of your thighs to slam you back down on his cock. Each time he was getting deeper and deeper, hitting spots never touched before. Your mind was hazy, unable to concentrate on anything other than how he was making you feel. Only a few primitive high-pitched noises escaping your lips.

Your walls were pulsing for him as he retracted and sheathed you back on to him over and over again.

“How does it feel… hmmm… to fuck your superior?” he purrs into your ear.

You clench, gripping on to his shoulders for more support.

“So hot Sir” you whimper.

He growled back at you, picking up his pace even more. He’d gotten you to your edge, you were ready to spill over.

“Hux I’m” you begin

“I know” he breathes back.

He repositions again, bringing his fingers to your clit, manipulating it to his will as he finally sends you over the edge. White light flashes across your eyelids as you slam your eyes closed, squeezing your legs around Hux even more as your walls clamped down on him. You dig your nails into the fabric of greatcoat. Your muscles were shaking from pure euphoria, every inch of your mind and body fizzling with the pleasure he was giving you.

“Y/N!” he moaned as he continued to thrust into you through your orgasm, your clamping walls bringing him his own release. As he spilled into you the after waves of your orgasm continued to milk him for everything he had.

You exchanged heavy breaths as Hux ceased his thrusting, now just holding you between the wall and himself. His grip on the underside of your thighs released slightly allowing you to return your feet to the ground again, your hands slid down from his shoulders to grip the lapels of his coat as you lowered yourself.

You looked at one another, both of you with parted lips still revelling in the afterglow of pleasure, no words exchanged.

You still gripped the lapels of his coat, not wanting to let him go.

But the moment was cut short as the low light of the lift was suddenly replaced by the bright flickering main lights returning to life, a slow hum returning as the lift regained its power supply.

“Shit” you whisper.

You quickly move past him to retrieve your underwear and trousers. You didn’t turn back as you quickly redress yourself, retrieving your disgarded boots to slip back on. Now more moderately dressed you turn to face the doors, zipping up your jacket.

You catch Hux in the corner of your eye, his uniform and appearence already perfect again, apart from his gloves which he slowly pulled on while staring at you, a mischievous look covering his features.

You continue to face the doors trying to ignore him as the lift started travelling upwards. The harsh light somehow brought you crashing back down to reality as you begin considering the consequences of your actions. There was no way you were regaining any kind of power over him now, not after you had just practically begged for his cock.

A film of tears begins to coat your eyes, everything you’d ever worked towards, now worthless, all for a quick fuck in the lift. There was no way you could still progress within the First Order after this, he'd never allow it, he'd hold it over you forever. You sigh to yourself, bowing your head in defeat.

You heard shuffling behind you, not paying it too much head, until Hux started pulling on your hair. You try to turn,

“What are you doing?” you snap, eyes narrowed.

“Your hair isn’t regulation” he replied calmly, pushing your head to face forwards again.

He begins methodically pulling his fingers through your hair, even with your sobering realisations you couldn’t help but tip your head back for more of his touch, a warmth spreading through your veins. He pulls your hair into a ponytail, having retrieved your hairband he tied it tightly around your strands.

“There” he stated somewhat proudly.

You don’t turn, feeling the lift beginning to slow again to arrive at a level, you swallow, readying yourself for what you were about to say.

“That’s never happening again” you state coldly, your nails digging into your palms as your hands clenched by your side. 

Hux didn’t reply, but a faint blurred reflection from the lift doors showed him lift his head slightly at the words. But his reflection quickly disappeared as the lift doors slid open, you move to begin marching out.

Just as you step over the threshold Hux grabs one of your hands, pulling you ferociously back into the confined space with him. You were so surprised by the action that you couldn’t put up any kind of fight, your body slamming back into his as the doors closed behind you again.

“What the fuck?” you shout, stepping back from him again.

“You forget that I know you”, a small smile marks his features, “I know you think this means you’ve lost everything you’ve worked for”, he closes the gap between you again, bringing a hand to cup your cheek, his thumb wiping away a tear that had just begun to fall, “but I need you to know that I will not use it against you”

"Again" you sniffle avoiding eye contact, you didn't want him to see the pain you still felt. But you knew better than to trust anything that came out of his mouth again.

Hux's softened features tensed with confusion.

You broke the silence, your voice soft as you still avoided his eyes,

"You've already used our relationship against me before...", you use the pain that still infected your heart ever since he betrayed you to bolster your confidence, bringing your eyes back to his as your tone became venomous, "... what makes you think I would ever trust you again" you spit back, violently swatting his hand away from your cheek as you did so.

Hux's brows raised in shock from your outburst, his jaw tensing before his scowl returned. Returning his hands behind his back, he took a step towards you, challenging you,

"If that's how you _really_ feel... why can I still taste you on my tongue?"

You avert his gaze for a moment, hot embarrassment staining your cheeks red, as you try formulating your response. You snap your eyes back to his, taking a step forward to accept his challenge.

"You serviced a need, nothing more... you're nothing to me"

"You're nothing to me!" he exclaimed back quickly as if it were a competition, his head cantered down to you.

You lift your head up to meet his,

"Good, then we're agreed" you snap, enunciating every syllable

Hux lowers his head again,

"Good", he matches your snappy exaggerated tone.

You hadn't noticed throughout the exchange how close you were to one another again, you could feel his breath on your face, your chests grazing as you both took in deep breaths. You couldn't be sure of how long the two of you remained like this, the intensity of the stare took up all of your attention. Only the sound of the lift doors opening again could break the intense stand-off between you and Hux.

In complete synchronicity you both move to exit the lift swiftly, both having to stop as you reached the threshold at the same time, the space not wide enough for you to march out at the same time. You look up at one another, both with the same unmoving determination spread across your faces. You try taking a step forward to exit first, stopped again as Hux tries the exact same thing. You look at one another again with the same intense stare.

Just outside the lift a maintenance officer working on the control panel looked on at the whole interaction, questioning whether he should make himself known, unsure at what exactly he was witnessing.

"General Hux?" he finally spoke up.

His voice pulled the attention of you and Hux out of your stare and over to him. Hux uses the situation to his advantage, straightening himself out before taking a step to stand on threshold between the lift and the corridor, blocking your exit.

"Ah... officer... I trust the lift is now fully operational again"

"Yes Sir"

"Good"

He looks back at you over his shoulder for a moment, smugness radiating from his features, before prompty marching off. You scowl back at him, stepping out of the lift to watch him march down the corridor, arms swinging by his side. _He only did that when he was feeling cocky_.


	7. Travel

As Hux faded away between a flurry of other officer’s you remain in place, still watching. After you finally lose sight of his bright red hair against the dark interiors of the Finalizer you turn to see the maintenance officer still looking at you with confusion.

“WHAT?!” you shout down to him, taking a small step forward at the same time to intimidate him.

The officer quickly re-directed his gaze to the control panel. His hands were shaking as he quickly tried returning the wiring he had been working on back behind the control panel. You watch him a moment before storming off, barging into his shoulder as you went to unbalance him. Once again Hux had successfully pressed all of your buttons, anger was now bubbling below your skin, mainly for him but partly for yourself as well.

You march down the corridors, not knowing exactly where your feet were taking you. Your mind begins whirring with what had just happened, but you couldn’t make sense of any of it. One moment you saw flashes of the man you used to know, showing completely sincerity to comfort you, and the next you were fighting with him again. As you were caught in the storm of your own mind you must have been radiating an intense energy into the air as other officers seemed to quickly move out of your way, keeping their gazes down from your own. The more you marched through the more you began to enjoy it; it felt like the kind of power and respect you had been long overdue. _You could understand why Hux was such a dick all the time if this was what it felt like_.

Just the thought of him makes your fists clench. You see a side-corridor on your right and decide to make a beeline for it. The empty corridor gives you a moment to yourself just to catch your breath and figure out what you were going to do next. You didn’t exactly want to head back to your quarters and analyse your situation all night.

“Fuck sake” you whisper to yourself as you slam your palm into the wall.

Everything was so much simpler before Hux and Ren got here, when it was just you and Mitaka getting on with your work. But you couldn’t deny that since Hux had returned you’d felt more alive than you had done in years. Mitaka was a great friend, someone you knew you could rely on and trust, but it wasn’t the same as what you and Hux had, an intense and deep understanding of the other, what they needed, wanted and desired.

You groan at your inner conflict, a balancing scale of hatred and desire was continually switching between one or the other to the point of emotional whiplash. No, it was easier to bury it for now. Set on avoiding anything you were feeling you decide to distract yourself with work by heading back to the bridge for the evening.

Arriving back at your workstation on the bridge you double check your estimated time for re-fuelling arrival to find it was still accurate. You then decide to busy yourself with flight plans from Luma to D’Qar, assuming this would naturally be the next destination. As you delved into work you didn’t notice how time melted away, the normal hum of the bridge dying down as officers were gradually replaced with the few night crew.

A hand on your shoulder finally brought you out of your work, you swivel round slightly to see who it belonged to,

“How late are you staying?”, Mitaka’s brows were raised, “remember we need to be on the bridge early tomorrow to bring the Finalizer into atmosphere”

You bring a hand up to rest on his as you smile back at him. His familiar face felt very comforting right now, you knew you could trust him to always have your back. For a split second you consider telling him everything. But you quickly think better of it, you didn’t want Mitaka to think badly of you. Plus there was some small part of you that wanted to keep it completely private, something for just you and Hux, though it was easier to tell yourself that it was for the preservation of your reputation rather than anything else.

“You do look after me Mitaka”, your tone was sincere, but an element of sarcasm also ran through your words. You lightly pat his hand, as he chuckles back.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages, at least we’ll have some free time tomorrow once re-fuelling is underway”

“Ughhhhhhhh” you groan.

“What?” Mitaka laughs back, his brows raised questioningly.

“I have to go to the Luma outpost to try and recruit some more navigators”

“Gods, good luck, it’s meant to be really cold down there. Who else is going?”

“Ughhhhhhh” you groan again, tapping your foot against the floor.

“What now?” Mitaka laughs back.

“Hux”, you sigh, “is insisting on going too”

“Of course he is” he replies with a small smile.

“What do you mean?” you ask, trying to keep your tone as level as possible while your heartrate starts to increase significantly at his intonation.

“Nothing”, he shakes his head as his smile turns to a straight line, “so it will just be you and him?”

_Did he know? How could he?_ You didn’t like the way Mitaka was acting and now trying to quickly change the subject, it wasn’t him. You stare up at him for a moment before trying to diffuse any possible insinuation or scenario Mitaka had running through his mind,

“Plus the pilot and probably some stormtroopers” you state back defensively.

Mitaka just nods back to you in acknowledgment, his face still expressionless. An awkward pause began to draw out between you both, you’d never had awkward interactions before. Finally having enough of the interaction you break the pause,

“I’m gonna stay here a little later, I just want to get a head start on these flight plans, I’m sure it will be full steam ahead once we have re-fuelled” you say with a small smile.

Mitaka pressed his brows down for a moment, out of either confusion or concern but you couldn’t be sure.

“Okay”, his tone was uncertain, so you try widening your smile in an attempt to convince him.

His hand finally left your shoulder as he started to walk away.

You watch him leave, analysing every one of his movements in hope that you would see something that gave you some more context behind his comment about Hux. As you stare a part of you begins pondering how much simpler it had been when it was just you and Mitaka, when Hux was just a distant, albeit painful, memory.

With perfect timing, a light vibration and flashing light from your datapad alerted you to a new message. Swivelling back to your workstation you take the datapad to open the message.

_Lieutenant L/N,_

_Report to Hangar 3 tomorrow after docking for travel to the First Order outpost on Luma._

_General Hux_

You let out an audible groan upon reading his message, the familiar mixture of anger, frustration and desire returning. You wanted to absolutely dread the thought of spending more time with him but instead you felt a strange sense of excitement. Whether it was for the power plays the two of you engaged in or something else you couldn’t be completely sure. The truth you didn’t want to admit was that no matter what he did, how he treated you, a part of you _still_ wanted him. You let out another groan at your internal battle between logic and desire. You knew some of the night crew were probably shooting you weird looks but at this point it really was the least of your concerns.

You desperately try to bottle up the mixture of emotions, returning to your flight plans to distract yourself. There was only so long you could keep the tactic up but for now it was good enough.

The next thing you know you’re slowly blinking your eyes open, the side of your cheek pressed against your workstation. You try lifting your heavy head off the workspace, a sheet of paper sticking to your cheek as you did so. You’d fallen asleep on the bridge. You rub your eyes trying to get them to open up fully before checking your datapad,

“Shiiiit” you whisper to yourself. It was 4:00, you had to be on the bridge at 5:00 with everyone else to bring the Finalizer down. You quickly gather all your papers together and store them away before running off the bridge and back to your quarters for a quick shower and change of uniform.

\----------

You’d just about managed to get back on the bridge in time with everyone else to bring the Finalizer down. Everything went to plan, lining the Finalizer up for docking was smooth, it was now just a matter of waiting. You’d predicted that the Finalizer would be ready to leave again the following evening. Usually docking would mean some free time for certain officers, you and Mitaka would usually find something to do. But not today. Hux wasn’t on the bridge this morning either which you thought was strange, he was usually so possessive of the Finalizer and didn’t really trust anyone other than himself. But Mitaka had overheard that he was summoned by the Supreme Leader, which was probably the only thing that could stop him from being on the bridge micro-managing everyone. Mitaka had been his usual self with you this morning, the awkwardness from last night had thankfully not continued but you couldn’t completely forget it either.

Now everything was set up for the re-fuelling it was time for you to leave. Mitaka could obviously see your dejected look and demeaner from across the bridge as you begin making your way to the exit,

“Have fun!” he shouted out after you, his tone was brimming with sarcasm.

You turn your head over your shoulder giving him a grimace before making your way down to Hangar 3.

\----------

You enter Hangar 3, the vastness of its scale never failed to give you a little burst of pride for the organisation you worked for. The hangar was a flurry of activity as stormtroopers, pilots and engineers all got on with their work. There were ships everywhere. TIE fighters were lined up the wall and stored in the high ceilings above, transport vessels were lined up along another section and there were even more ships in the distance.

You walk further into the large space, your eyes scanning for a flash of flame hair amongst the monotone colours. A squadron of stormtroopers cross your path making you stop a moment, once they pass you see him in the distance.

Hux is stood at the bottom of a ramp up to one of the transport ships, his attention focussed on the datapad in his hands. The closer you get the more his features come into focus. His hair was perfectly coiffed, as always, his usually perfectly plump lips were somewhat pierced, no doubt from the focus he was putting into whatever he was reading. The closer you get the faster your heart beats, you weren’t sure of how he would act with you after yesterday.

You finally reach where he was stood but he didn’t address you at all. You both knew he was purposely ignoring you, so you sigh exaggeratingly as you also retrieve your datapad to continue flight plans on to D’Qar. A part of you was relieved that he had chosen to treat you this way rather than being any worse because of your time together.

“You look awful” he finally says, still without looking up from his datapad.

He wasn’t wrong. Your poor sleep over recent nights and sleeping on the bridge last night had emblazoned you with dark circles that hung below your eyes. Colour had seemingly left your face too making you look paler than usual; much to your dismay you’d actually started to look like Hux.

You look at him for a moment as he continued refusing to look at you before returning your attention to your own datapad,

“Then don’t look at me” you reply through gritted teeth, still not looking up to him. Your first interaction with him being an insult had successfully pissed you off already, as he had no doubt intended,

“I still don’t understand why you need to come” you state with a scrunch of your nose, your rising frustration and anger peeking through your tone.

“I find myself in need of a new assistant” he replies deadpan.

“Ah yes, don’t have a great track record with those do you?” you scoff back.

He didn’t have chance to reply before a commotion in the distance caught both of your attention’s. A squadron of stormtroopers were broken in two as Ren stormed through, officers of all ranks parted forming a pathway for him. He was currently headed straight for you and Hux, you held out a small bit of hope that he would suddenly veer off to another ship but that was becoming increasingly unlikely.

“Gods, don’t tell me he’s coming as well”, your tone portrayed exasperation at the awkward situations you were now sure to endure on this trip.

“Problem Lieutenant?” Hux asks, finally turning his head to you.

You turn to look at him, cursing yourself as soon as you did, his face was tense.

“His inevitable temper tantrums will only slow us down” you sigh back.

“That Lieutenant”, he sighs as he returns his datapad to the pocket of his coat, “is something we _can_ agree on”

“Well”, you also put your datapad away, “that and I don’t think the transport will fit both of your egos”, you shoot him a sarcastic smile.

Hux rolls his eyes before replying,

“Don’t test me today Lieutenant” he says pointing his gaze down at you.

A shiver of excitement shoots through you at his challenge.

“Why? What are you going to do?” you ask with a small smile as you take a step towards him, unable to entirely conceal the excitement you felt from the ongoing interaction.

Something in Hux’s demeanour changed, you couldn’t be sure exactly of what, but he also took a step closer, a small smile tugging at his lips as if he were feeling the exact same excitement,

“What do you want me to do?” he asks, his tone deep but hushed, keeping the interaction just for the two of you.

Your eyes flutter at the suggestive tone of his words, the desire you felt quickly surpassing any hatred, but before you could reply Ren was stood between you both.

“You’re different Lieutenant L/N” he states coldly.

“Excuse me?” you ask, quickly blinking to bring yourself back into the hangar and out of Hux’s eyes.

“There is something different about you”, he cocks his head slightly as his eyes flicker across the features of your face. You try staring back at him defiantly as you put all of your energy into keeping your mind guarded and your trysts with Hux hidden. Ren takes a small step closer as his eyes continue dancing over your features,

“I can’t quite put my finger on it”, a small smile starts to pull at his lips, “I do wish you’d let me into that mind of yours”, with his final word his eyes meet yours. You momentarily break the stare to flicker your eyes to Hux who stood behind Ren. Interestingly, his usually impenetrable face and demeanour conveyed an element of nervousness at Ren’s line of inquiry.

You return your eyes back to Ren, his small smile morphing into something more devilish,

“I’m glad to finally be going on a mission with you L/N…”, his tone was slow and calculated as if he were imagining a whole collection of scenarios as he spoke the words, “…even if Hux is coming along too”

“REN” Hux finally warned from behind. Ren widened his smile at you slightly before turning to face Hux.

“Interesting… I sense something different about you too General… a shift in your energy”, Ren was toying with Hux for a reaction but Hux had already straightened himself out, he was impenetrable again.

“Please, remind me Ren, why do you feel the need to take a trip to the Luma outpost?”

It was almost laughable that you had only just been asking Hux the same question about why he felt the need to come along.

“I’m a Commander of the First Order General, why shouldn’t I?”

Hux leans in slightly to address Ren,

“Perhaps Leader Snoke should be made aware of your distractions… it’s my understanding that you are to be kept on a tight leash after your recent set of failures”

Ren repositioned himself slightly to address Hux head on, puffing out his chest slightly as he did so,

“It isn’t a distraction General” he spits “I need to make sure we have the highest calibre of officer that will allow me to find the scavenger”

In perfect synchronicity you and Hux both roll your eyes at the mention of his scavenger crush. Ren takes a step back to switch his attention between you and Hux, obviously sensing the disdain you both outwardly projected for him and his scavenger.

You noticed a muscle beneath one of his eyes beginning to twitch as his anger grew the more he flickered his attention between you and Hux. Without saying a word he spins to march up the ramp in a huff, metallic reverberations somehow still echoing throughout the vast space of the hangar.

You want to smile at the way you and Hux had managed to piss him off so easily, as Ren disappeared into the transport you glance at Hux. It was almost imperceptible, but you were sure he was thinking exactly the same. You swallow before looking to the ground and making your way towards the ramp. Halfway up you felt the ramp vibrate as Hux followed behind, you speed up to get inside the transport.

You emerge into a rectangular shaped space, forming the main body of the transport, with metallic grated flooring and dark grey walls. On both sides of the space was seating positioned against the walls. Directly upfront was the cockpit, a pilot was already seated doing pre-flight checks.

You hear the ramp behind start to rise up into place, you turn to take in your surroundings. Hux was already making his way towards the back of the space where there was a large booth table, chucking his gloves on to the table and carefully placing his coat on the benched seat. Ren was nowhere to be seen but you notice an archway in the middle of the rectangular space, probably leading to private rooms which you assume he was now sulking in.

“Ready for take-off Sir?” shouts the pilot from up front.

Hux was already setting his datapad up on the table for work.

“Yes, get a move on” he shouts back.

The transport started to hum as the pilot switched on the engines.

“You might want to sit down L/N” he states in a cold tone.

You look back over at him, the light from his datapad illuminating his facial features against the darkened surroundings. Without thinking too much, you allow yourself to be guided by his illuminated face, making your way over to the booth before sitting down. Just as you sit down the transport lurches forwards as the pilot takes you out of the hangar.

Hux looks at you sidelong, probably trying to decipher why you had chosen to sit next to him when both walls of the space are lined with empty seating. You take out your datapad and start working through calculations for fuel and costings for the now completed flight plans. As the transport begins to hurtle over the planet’s surface bright white light from the icy surface breaks through the small porthole windows to bathe the transport’s main body in a light you were not used to on the Finalizer.

You weren’t sure how long you had been working but you had almost finished the final calculation for fuel and costings on to D’Qar when a horrible whaling sound begins and the whole transport starts to jutter in the air.

Hux immediately stands to shout over at the pilot,

“What is going on?” he demands as he shuffles out of the booth and begins marching towards the cockpit.

“Looks like engine failure Sir, I have to put it down” you hear the pilot reply in the distance.

The transport swiftly begins to lower in the air before finally making contact with the ground below. Ren emerges in the doorway to investigate the sudden landing.

Hux walks straight past Ren and back over towards where you were sat, his features were pointed with determination as he retrieved his gloves and coat.

As he lowered the ramp you stand to shuffle out from behind the booth to join the other men in the centre of the transport’s main body.

As the ramp lowered the planet’s icy air quickly filled the transport making you catch your breath slightly, Mitaka was not joking when he said it was cold here. You follow the three men down the ramp, the blinding white light from the snow and ice make your eyes squint. There was nothing around you, just a desert of snow and ice, freezing winds howling around you. You make your way round to inspect the engines, your teeth were now chattering, you desperately try concealing them, not wanting to look inferior in front of the others.

“It looks like it’s just the left engine General, some of the mechanisms have completely frozen in place” the pilot tries shouting over the blustering winds.

“Can it be fixed?” Hux asks.

“Not without some new parts and anti-freeze solution to stop it happening to the other engine” the pilot replies as he moves his attention between the engine and Hux. Everyone falls into a moment of silence as you all try finding a solution. You wrap your arms around yourself in a feeble attempt to keep yourself warm as you try recalling the maps of Luma you studied when looking up the outpost.

“I’d put us about half way between where the Finalizer is docked and the outpost, is that about correct?” you ask the pilot.

“Yes roundabout” he replies with a nod of his head.

“In which case there should be a small mining settlement back the way we came where we could get the supplies needed”, you turn your body to face the direction you had just been travelling from.

“Yes I know the one… to get there and back plus make the repairs… it would mean we wouldn’t be on our way again until first thing tomorrow”

You turn back around to face the men as the pilot replied.

“What’s your name officer?” Hux directed to the pilot

“Pine Sir”

“Officer Pine you can make your way to the settlement now to get what you need; we will wait with the transport”

“Yes Sir” the pilot replies before zipping up his jacket and making his way back the way you had just come from.

You watch the pilot disappear into the icy winds, your whole body now shaking as the cold made its way into your bones. You hear Ren and Hux both make their way back up the ramp into the transport before finally turning to join them.

You emerge back into the transport, closing the ramp back up behind you in an attempt to keep the cold out. The transport was silent, Ren was in the cockpit fiddling with the control panel while Hux was stood by the booth typing away on his datapad. Your chattering teeth now filled the air, you try pacing up and down the main body of the transport to encourage more blood flow around your body. As you turn about to pace back towards the booth you were surprised to find Hux filling your pathway, you catch your breath for a second at his sudden appearance.

“Here” he states as he thrusts his hand out towards you holding his greatcoat.

You look down to the coat and then back up to him. You continue to look up at him, your brows furrowing and un-furrowing as you try figuring out whether the gesture came with any ulterior motive.

Hux rolls his eyes as he moves his head to the side a little,

“It’s just a coat L/N”, his tone was one of exasperation. As if he was tired of the games you had been playing with one another.

You pause a moment, trying to decide whether you should take it. You knew his greatcoat was a symbol of the power he had gained over the years, so it was never _‘just’_ a coat.

You finally decide to take the coat from him,

“Thank you” you say softly still weary of the gesture.

You carefully place the coat over your shoulders before holding onto the lapels to wrap it around your front. Hux watches you the whole time as if he wanted to make sure you would actually put it on and not be stubborn about it.

He then turns, returning to the booth, sitting to continue tapping away on his datapad. As both men were temporarily distracted you quickly take the opportunity to bring your nose down to the fabric of Hux’s greatcoat, it smelt exactly how you remembered him years ago. There was something comforting about his scent not changing, you slowly smile into the fabric as memories flooded your mind. As Hux shuffled slightly where he sat you quickly bring your head back up and move towards the booth to retrieve your datapad from the table.

You had no intention of sitting next to him this time but as you picked up your datapad he addressed you,

“I’ll need you to start the flight plans on to D’Qar” Hux states as he continues to stare at his datapad.

“Already done… I’ve also finalised the costings and fuel requirements”

You just about register his eyebrows raise slightly at your response, you could tell he was impressed but not necessarily surprised. As much as he wouldn’t admit it, he knew you were a good at your job.

“Good… we can start planning the attack then” he says as he slowly lifts his head up from his datapad to you.

“Should I get Ren?” you ask bringing your hand up to gesture over your shoulder.

“No” Hux sighs back, “Ren does not plan, his idea of a strategy is to simply run at something with his red glowstick”

“Understood” you reply with a small smile as you sat in the booth. As soon as you sit he begins reeling out his plans,

“We’ll coordinate with other destroyers on the way to D’Qar, send a message out to navigators on the other ships, tell them to plan a flight on to D’Qar as a matter of urgency. How long will it take from Luma to D’Qar?”

“Approximately three days in hyperspace”, Hux nods his head in response.

“We’ll coordinate with the other ships a few hours before to arrive at D’Qar together. We’ll maximise the number of dreadnoughts and canons, destroy the planet, destroy the resistance, and the galaxy will finally belong to the First Order”. Hux’s tone became less levelled the more he spoke, he was growing excited for the attack, the opportunity to show the power he commanded over the First Order’s fleets.

“We have to consider the possibility that Alula somehow managed to tip them off that we would get the their location out of her, they may be in the middle of an evacuation or already have left by the time we get there” you add.

“I have another plan should we interrupt them mid-evacuation”, a smugness glossed his features.

“Oh” you exclaim questioningly with a raised eyebrow.

He turns to look at you, the smugness quickly dissipating from his face and into his voice,

“Above your rank I’m afraid Lieutenant”, he replies with a sarcastic smile.

You pick up your own datapad with an exaggerated sigh as you start to draft the message to other navigators. You both work away for a period in silence, Ren still up in the cockpit. You send the message on to the other navigators before glancing side-on to Hux’s datapad. He was analysing numbers under what looked to be a schematic of a First Order ship and a resistance ship. He then flicked the screen to reveal a map of star systems. This peaked your interest, you unconsciously lean closer towards the screen to get a better look, momentarily forgetting that Hux was still sat beside you.

He clears his throat upon noticing you; you react by immediately leaning back and sitting up straight. He twists his body slightly to face you, pulling his datapad closer into him as he did so.

“As I said Lieutenant… this is above your rank” he spoke slowly.

You take the opportunity to try getting one up on him,

“You didn’t seem too concerned about my rank in the lift… Sir” you reply quietly with a sarcastic grin.

His whole body tensed at your words, a grimace forming across his features as he looked into the distance. It was the first time either one of you had openly addressed what had happened. As he was distracted by your comment he let his hand slip away from the screen it was covering, you take the opportunity to get a good look at what he was working on.

“You actually did it” you laugh back lightly as you realise what he was working on, before looking up to his face.

“What?”, he replies quickly bringing his attention back to you, his eyebrows raised questioningly.

“Active hyperspace tracking” you state with a nod of your head.

“How did y-" , he redirects his gaze to the screen momentarily realising he hadn’t concealed it as well as he thought.

“You always said new technology would bring us success… I just assumed this one was a non-starter with all the problems you used to have with it… how did you calibrate the tracker to all of the different planetary and star systems?”. As you spoke Hux’s features indicated he now remembered that he used to discuss many of his technological ideas with you. After a short pause he drops his head slightly, breathing out through his nose,

“I haven’t yet… I have a whole team of engineers and not one can figure it out” he enunciated sharply; his frustration clearly evident.

“You…”, Hux looks up at you again, you swallow, “you could let me have a look”

Hux presses his lips together as he scans your face, looking for any sign of what your true intentions could be, similar to how you had earlier when he offered his coat. Knowing what he was thinking you shuffle slightly closer, you move to rest your hand on his forearm which was placed on the table,

“I just want to help”, you speak lowly and softly, attempting to convey your sincerity.

You could feel his body tense under your touch, his eyes glanced at where your hand rested on his arm before looking back to you and slowly nodding. You remove your hand from his forearm as he pushes his datapad closer to you on the table. You shuffle over on the booth seat, so you were even closer.

You start scanning over the information. You could feel his stare on you the whole time, making your heart race slightly and a pink glow begin to appear on your cheeks.

“So we need to find a way to make sure the tracker can quickly identify the star or planetary system it’s in, even though hyperspace means it could be there less than a second”

“Correct” he replies.

You nod slowly as you process the scale of the issue.

“Have you tried the Gadot equation?”

“Yes, it apparently could not compensate enough for the speed”

“Okay” you breathe out. You start making a clicking sound in your mouth the more you rack your mind for a possible answer. “It could be a longshot but how about we combine the Charter Method, which should take care of all the star and planetary systems, with the Klein equation, which should cover the quick speeds?”

You turn to look at Hux with wide excited eyes, he was already looking directly at you making you falter slightly. He presses his brows down a moment as he considered your idea before giving one firm nod,

“Try it” he gestures to his datapad.

You smile back at him before bringing his datapad closer to you to begin tapping in the equations. After a few moments you slide the datapad across the table between you and him again before pressing the screen to run a trial simulation with the new method.

As the simulation begins to run between the First Order and resistance ships you both subconsciously lean in closer to the screen in anticipation, your upper arms pressing against one another the closer you got.

A green box starts to flash around the two ships on the screen indicating the simulated success of hyperspace tracking.

“Yes!” you and Hux both exclaim in perfect unison; you both turn your heads to look at one another smiling. You hadn’t realised how close you had gotten again. Neither one of you moves to break the stare or proximity but you suddenly become very aware of how your thighs and knees were pressed against his. You gulp at the growing intensity and familiar desire that washed over you, Hux’s smile disappeared as his mouth dropped open a fraction. You unconsciously wet your lips with your tongue as you become captivated by his lips, your heart starts racing. A metallic clang from upfront broke the moment as you both remembered Ren was there too. Hux abruptly pulls back to sit up straight, he runs a hand through his hair, you follow to sit up straight. Hux brings the datapad closer to himself again,

“Best not mention this to Ren… he’ll only want to use it to stalk his crush”

You laugh back at him, a small smile also gracing his features as you did so.

“Doesn’t this look cosy… ahhhh you’ve even let her have your precious coat”, Ren’s voice cuts through the warm air surrounding you and Hux like a knife. You both look up to see him stood in the archway to the cockpit, his dark eyes piercing into you even from the distance he was away from you.

“It’s called work Ren, it’s what the rest of us do while you chase after your crush” Hux snapped back. You take the opportunity of Hux speaking to try subtly shuffling away from him slightly, not wanting to give Ren any more ammunition. But Hux must have noticed as he swiftly brought a gloved hand to rest on your own, stopping you from moving away from him. You heart starts racing at his touch, partly from the warmth he sent through you but also fear from Ren catching on. His gesture confused you but you didn't let it show.

Ren pierces his lips at Hux’s words, his jaw tensing before a sinister grin appears,

“Oh General, work may be the most important thing in your life, but I can assure you the First Order can quite easily succeed without you” he warns ominously.

You feel Hux’s grip on your hand tighten slightly at Ren’s words. You straighten yourself out more where you sit as a strange sense of defensiveness for Hux spreads through your body. Regardless of the history between the two of you, even you could subjectively say that the First Order would not be where it is now without Hux. Ren smirks at Hux’s lack of reply before spinning to return to the cockpit. Hux’s grip loosens slightly as Ren does so before he completely removes his hand, returning it to the table.

It wasn’t like Hux to surrender so easily to the words of Ren. You pull his coat a little tighter around yourself, a waft of his scent casting your mind back to more memories you had with him. One memory in particular causes you to chuckle. Hux promptly shoots you a stare,

“Something funny Lieutenant?” he spits at you.

“It’s nothing”, you look over to see him staring at you intensely, he must have thought you were laughing at him. You act to quickly snuff out his thought and hopefully perk him up after his interaction with Ren.

“It’s just”, you pause leaning in a little closer to where he was sat, “don’t Ren’s tantrums remind you of that cocky kid back at the Academy, uhhhhhh what was his name? The one we always used to wind up”

“Pierce” Hux interjects with a small tug at his lips.

“Yes! Remember we used to wind him up to the point he would have some dramatic tantrum in front of everyone”

Hux looks into his lap smiling as he nods back at you.

“I wonder what happened to him” you laugh lightly staring at a genuine smile that graced his features. His smile sent a fluttering sensation throughout your body. He looked like a different man when he was being real with you, younger, happier, _handsome_. The scales in your mind were firmly tipped in favour of desire right now.

His genuine smile was quickly replaced by a more mischievous one that took over the rest of his features too, you smile back at him questioningly,

“What?”

Hux looks away for a moment still smiling as he tries to conceal the extent of his laughter,

“I assigned him to head the stormtrooper sanitation unit on one of the destroyers”

You try holding back your laughter for a moment before letting out a large snort, Hux quickly follows, you both laugh loudly about the fate of one of your former peers. You look forward as you try getting your laughter under control, you notice Ren’s head turned to the side, trying to listen in on what you and Hux were laughing about. Before you had time to react he was out of the pilot’s seat and marching towards where you and Hux were sat.

“Lots of work going on I see…you really have changed your tune haven’t you Lieutenant… I thought you hated our dear General here?” he says, gesturing towards Hux. Your laughter quickly dissipates as you gulp at the intensity he was sending through the transport. You could feel Hux straightening himself out next to you, no doubt tensing up again as Ren sucked out the warmth around you, filling the transport with a coldness again. The rare moment with the old Hux was quickly slipping away as Ren reminded you both of your shared history. Ren then re-directs his gaze to Hux,

“And General”, he cocks his head to the side, “I thought L/N was nothing but a navigator you were quite happy to lose to my mission”.

The reality of what you had said about one another washed over the growing softness and familiarity you had begun to show to one another again. The thought of Hux wanting to send you away again made you heart stop and flipped the scales in favour of hatred once again. But you felt a much deeper hatred towards Ren for ripping the moment with Hux away from you, his face was smug, he was obviously all too happy with himself for driving a wedge between you and Hux. A pregnant pause fell between the three of you before you finally make the decision to stand,

“I think I’ll retire for the night” you state to no one in particular before shuffling out of the booth. You make your way towards the archway for private quarters, as you pass Ren he grabs hold of your forearm to pull you back to face him,

“If his coat isn’t enough to keep you warm…” he canters his head down to you, changing his tone to a whisper, “you can always share with me”, his tone was mischievous but completely sincere.

You shoot him a sarcastic smile back before leaning in slightly to reply,

“I think I’ll be just fine by myself, thank you Commander”

You felt sure you could hear a small snort from Hux in the distance as you shot down Ren’s proposal. You pull your forearm free from Ren before quickly marching to the archway. There were three doors down the corridor, two on the right, the first was labelled as ‘Officer Quarters”. The second was labelled with ‘General’ and the third door at the end was labelled ‘Commander’.

You entered the officer quarters, there were three levels of bunkbeds set into the walls on either side of the small room. Closing the door behind you, you make your way to sit on the bottom bunk, sighing as you sit. You subconsciously wrap the coat tighter around you for comfort before realising you still had it on. You remove the coat to look at it before standing to hang it on a hook on the door. The coat had done the job in keeping you warm, you unzip your own jacket, remove your boots and slip under the thin covers.

You hadn’t got much sleep of late, so it didn’t take long before you slip into slumber. You might have got a couple of hours before the sound of a door slamming on the transport jolted you awake; you frantically look around the small room. Satisfied it was safe you lie down again and close your eyes, but your body was on high alert after being awoken. Your eyes hadn’t been closed long before your mind begins taunting you again with those all too familiar images of the attack.

You were being restrained by two resistance fighters, one holding onto each arm and a blaster pointing up under your chin. You try pulling away, kicking and screaming to get yourself free. You could feel your energy reserves rapidly depleting the more you struggled against them, and your panic rose. No matter how hard you fought they were unmoving, you were completely trapped by them and your own mind. One of the resistance fighters begins to squeeze their finger on the trigger when a familiar sense of calm injected itself into your dream. You lean into it, desperate for more. You eventually recognise it as being the familiar stroking motion from the bridge of your nose up to your forehead, the sensation was becoming clearer and clearer the more you lean into it, it swiftly carrying you away from the nightmare.

You slowly blink your eyes open, at first you only see the underside of the bunk above, but a set of pale fingers then come into your view before stroking your skin. You remain perfectly still but move your eyes to the right to investigate who the hand belonged to.

You saw Hux knelt down by your bunk looking down at the datapad in his right hand while the left continued laying his soothing strokes on your face.

“It was you?” you whisper.

Hux moves his eyes from the datapad over to you. You rapidly prop yourself up on an elbow to address him properly as he removes his hand to rest it on the edge of the bunk. You notice he was only in a black short-sleeved under top with his uniform trousers and boots.

“You were in the medbay with me after the attack?” you ask a little breathless. Your mind was racing at what this meant. Your perceptions of him were being flipped every which way the more you think of the ways he had tried to comfort you of late. The softness he showed towards you was in complete opposite to the way he acted with everyone else, and you at times. The sadness you had felt from Ren's revelation earlier vanished the more you looked at Hux, remembering that he didn't want you to go.

Hux appeared to become shy as he avoided your eyes, there were little twitches across his facial features as he tried coming up with some believable response that wouldn’t convey any feelings on his part. He eventually turns to look you in the eye again,

“What else was I supposed to do?” he asks defensively. “Watch you toss and turn in agony? I told you it was normal to have flashbacks and nightmares… but would you let me help you? No.” The tone of his voice was becoming more exasperated as he went and his mannerisms more exaggerated, “and tonight, I could hear you crying out, kicking the walls", he looks down to the floor, "you were suffering", he says softly, pausing before looking up at you again, "… what else was I supposed to do?” he finally asks sounding completely defeated.

He continues to stare back at you, slightly breathless from his defensive rant.

A brief pause fell between you as you registered everything he had just said. _Did he really think you were mad at him for trying to comfort you?_ It was endearing how defensive he had become at trying to look out for you. You could only think of one way to accurately convey your gratitude to him.

You didn’t let his question hang in the air any longer; you wrap your free hand around his neck to pull him into a kiss. He was tense at first but quickly relaxed into you. After a few moments you pull away, your hand still behind his head, to receive his reaction. Hux just stares back at you for a moment, surprise covering his face.

He didn’t let much time pass before closing the gap between you again. There was a small thud as he let his datapad drop to the floor, he moves his head under the bunk to kiss you back. His tongue broke through into your mouth, deepening the kiss. You pull him in further from behind his neck, Hux quickly understands and complies by climbing in on top of you, not breaking the kiss at all.

He straddles your legs, using one arm to prop himself up while the other clutches at your waist. You take his hand to guide it up to your breast, once there he squeezes on to it. You groan out into his mouth as he does, bringing your own hands up to cup his cheeks. Your noses crash into one another as the kiss becomes increasingly intense. You move in harmony together, your tongues moving in conversation with one another, desperate to convey everything you had been feeling for one another recently. The intimacy had your heart beating through your chest and a hot sense of desire pooling at your core.

Suddenly there was loud knocking, stopping both of you in your tracks. Hux pulls back from the kiss, the tips of your noses still touching as you stare into one another’s eyes. You freeze in place.

“Hux!” Ren shouts.

Panic races throughout your body. _Did Ren know?_ You were too scared to think about what he might do to you and Hux if he found out. You gulp, lightly smoothing Hux’s face with your thumbs. You stare into his green eyes as if it was the last time. Meanwhile Hux was mapping your face, trying to memorise every small part, as if it were the last time he would ever see you. There was another loud bang against your door this time, you and Hux both close your eyes and flinch at the sudden sound but never let the other go.

“L/N!” Ren now shouts, you can feel your heartbeat in your ears as your panic rises to new levels. The only thing giving you some kind of comfort was the warm breaths you exchanged with the man on top of you.

It felt like an eternity before Ren finally broke the silence again,

“The pilots back”

You and Hux both let out a breath of relief. You would be okay. You could hear the heavy feet of Ren walking down the corridor and back to the main body of the transport. Hux lowers himself slightly, pressing his body against yours more before moving to press his forehead into yours. You cupped his face slightly tighter as you lost yourself in his eyes again.

Eventually, without saying a word he lifts himself off of you and out from under the bunkbed before heading towards the door. He seemed to consider his coat for a moment, which still hung from the hook, before ultimately deciding to leave it there in case you needed it again. He exited the room leaving you alone again. As soon as the door closes behind him you bring your hands to cover you face before dragging them down. For the first time in a long time you felt an unfamiliar twinge of hope tugging at your feelings.


	8. Luma Outpost

You quickly re-dress yourself and grab Hux’s coat, opting not to put it on at this point, before exiting the small room. As you approach the main body of the transport you see Hux and Ren with their backs to you, Hux had gotten himself re-composed much quicker than you. As you approach you hear the sound of a male voice belonging to the pilot explain the parts he managed to acquire. Before you fully re-enter the main body you subtly, and carefully, drape Hux’s coat over one of the seats lining the wall, not wanting to draw Ren’s attention to the fact that you still had it. You couldn’t be sure where you and Hux stood right now, but you did know that regardless of what it was or where it could go, Ren could never know. The pressure of having to keep you mind continuously guarded was taking its toll on you especially now you had more to hide from him. Gulping down your nerves you walk further into the main body of the transport to stand beside Hux. As you take your place you lightly brush past his arm, just the small touch was enough for your mind to start flooding with the images, sounds and feeling of him just a moment ago on top of you. You quickly try draining them from the forefront of your mind as you straighten out your uniform, scared that Ren would break through your mind.

“Nice of you to join us Lieutenant…”, Ren interrupts the pilot without looking up to you. He spoke slowly with a calculated tone, as if he were already scheming. There was a brief pause before he speaks up again,

“… you need to have a word with your officers about tardiness, _Hux_ ”, as the name leaves his lips Ren lifts his attention to Hux’s face and then to your own to survey his work. Hux was unmoving, his face stone and his attention still firmly fixed on the engine part in the pilots hand. Meanwhile, you hold Ren’s stare as defiantly as you can.

Without lifting his gaze from the engine part,

“I am quite capable of disciplining my own officers…” he snaps back before briefly pausing to adjust his tone, making it smoother and equally as calculated as Ren’s, “…and I don’t think Lieutenant L/N needs a lecture from you Ren, of all people, about the importance of time keeping”

You can practically feel the energy shift as Ren begins to radiate pure anger. The muscle beneath his eye was beginning to twitch again, at which point you re-direct your gaze to the metal grated floor below while trying to supress a wide grin from Hux’s comment. Without saying a word, Ren begins crashing his way over to lower the ramp. He then proceeds to stomp his way down to the planet, just as he was about to disappear completely out of view he shouts back,

“Well, COME ON THEN!”

Hux slowly lifts his head before giving a curt nod to the pilot, signalling him to follow Ren which he promptly does. You slowly follow the pilot, stopping at the top of the ramp to watch him descend. A part of you wished you could just close the ramp, abandon Ren on the icy planet and return to the Finalizer with Hux. There would definitely be fewer interruptions with the child being trapped on Luma. Lost in your own daydreams you don’t notice the coldness beginning to flood the transport again. The cold air had already begun biting at your skin, your muscles convulsing beneath your skin in a bid to build some warmth, a subtle tremor gracing your whole body as they did so. Without warning a coat was being draped over your shoulders from behind, you immediately knew who it belonged to from the light waft of his scent. You couldn’t distinguish the exact notes or what it reminded you of, only that it belonged to him and that was enough. Hux then grips your shoulders with his hands before rubbing them up and down your upper arms to try keeping you warm. You couldn’t conceal the wide grin spreading across your face from his gesture. As he continues to move his hands up and down your arms a different kind of warmth begins to consume you. You were powerless to stop your balance from tipping backwards into him, craving as much as you could get from him. His rubbing eventually slowed, he gave your arms one final squeeze as he kissed the top of your head before walking out from behind you and down the ramp. You watch him descend onto the planet, his gesture was enough to tell you all you needed to know, he didn’t regret anything, he cared. As you lose sight of him on the planet you quickly move to follow after him.

It was early morning now; a yellow glow was being reflected across the ice and the blustering winds had subsided. You reach the others by the damaged engine; the pilot is already fiddling with the engine. He fits the new parts before spraying it with the anti-freeze solution.

“That should do it Sir” the pilot shouts over to Hux.

“Very good”, Hux affirms with a strong nod, “let’s get going” he continues before spinning on his heels back towards the ramp. The pilot follows, then you, and then Ren. There was something about having Ren stalking behind you that made you very uneasy. You quicken your pace to increase your distance from him.

Back on the transport you set yourself up on the booth again, retrieving your datapad to check through your messages. Hux and Ren were both up in the cockpit with the pilot before the engines start roaring to life again. Hux takes long strides towards the back of the transport before it lifts off the ground, he shuffles into the booth, sitting next to you. While Ren situates himself on one of the seats lining the transport wall, up near the cockpit.

Hux retrieves his own datapad as you read through your messages. You scroll through a series of new messages from the navigators of other ships, you let out a sigh.

“Problem?” Hux asks softly as he keeps his attention on his own screen.

You push your datapad across the table slightly towards him as you speak,

“All of these so called navigators are asking for help with their flight plans, it’s no wonder that the First Order has failed to eradicate the resistance if _this_ is the best we have to offer”

Hux lets out a quiet snort through his nose at your rant as he picks up your datapad to inspect the messages closer. It was probably rare for him to hear someone get as annoyed as he does about the shortcomings of other officers.

“I will contact their superiors. Get them to re-assess their navigations team”, he hands you back your datapad.

A light snore travels across the transport, you and Hux both look up to the source of the noise to see Ren slumped in his seat, asleep.

“Pathetic” Hux whispers, his face was scrunched into a look of disgust as he stares over at the sleeping man.

“Agreed” you add, you turn your head to look up at him as he turns to look down at you, a small smile across both of your faces. The longer you look at him the quicker your heart begins to beat. Fighting the urge to grab hold of him and pull his lips back on to your own you turn your gaze away from his face. You shuffle your shoulders to remove his coat which was still wrapped around your body. As you remove it you catch a glimpse of him watching you, something about him looked disappointed.

You try handing it back to him, he looks down to the coat and back up to you,

“You don’t have to” he trails off, seemingly confirming the disappointment you saw in his face.

“I don’t want to raise anyone’s suspicions… plus, it’s done its job” you finish with a smile. He nods back to you as he takes the coat.

“Coming up on the Luma outpost now Sir!” the pilot shouts over his shoulder to the back of the transport.

You and Hux both look forward, you notice Ren sitting himself up straight too.

“Very good” Hux shouts back.

You all prepare to leave the transport, putting datapads away and returning coats and robes. You’re the first to reach the ramp, pressing the button to put it down as soon as the transport makes contact with the ground. You descend the ramp once again, without the comfort of Hux’s coat this time.

Ahead of you was a large non-descript metal door set into the side of a cliff face. The whole of Luma outpost was very unassuming, the only thing signalling there was any kind of life was the large metal door concealing the vast warren of tunnels and rooms set into the mountains. You walk quickly up to the large door, not wanting the cold to set in too much again, when it starts to slowly slide open from the middle. The slither of opening reveals a scrawny male officer, his face and mannerisms remind you of Pierce, the officer you and Hux took great pleasure in taunting.

“Who are you?” he snarls with narrowed eyes and a tone of contempt.

“Lieutenant L/N from the Finalizer, here to recruit navigators” you state back deadpan.

He narrows his eyes further as he considers your statement,

“On who’s orders?”

“Mine”, you hear Hux’s voice over your shoulder. You want to smile at his perfect timing and the rapid change in the officer’s demeaner upon seeing the General. You definitely wanted to see his reaction when Ren would finally show his face. Hux positioned himself behind you, speaking over your shoulder to the male officer in the doorway.

“Now let us in or I will personally see to it that you are relieved of your position and permanently disposed”, his tone would have been enough to scare even you if you didn’t know him.

The officer’s face dropped as Hux’s words permeated the air, he quickly shifts his gaze to the floor and moved to the side. You feel a hand on the small of your back as Hux canters his head down to speak into your ear,

“After you Lieutenant” he whispers in a commanding but seductive tone. His breath felt burning hot against your cold skin. You move your head to the side to catch a glimpse of him in your periphery, blinking heavily as you do so. Desire was quickly starting to weigh heavily on you again. As he slips his hand off the small of your back you walk into the outpost with Hux following closely behind.

The two of you stand to the side as the male officer starts fiddling with a control panel to close the doors again. While the officer is distracted Hux connects your bodies at the upper arms, you already knew he was up to something. His hands were held firmly behind his back until you feel a hand rest on your lower back again, his fingertips gently moving over your uniform. Just as you are starting to relax into his touch he slides his hand down to squeeze your ass, you practically jump in the air at his sudden change in energy. You make a point of clearing your throat as you exaggeratingly straighten out your uniform. You look up to him, he was watching the male officer, his face looked expressionless apart from the split second flicker of a small smile pulling at his lips.

“I’ll get you back for that” you state in a hushed tone just for him. There is a faint flicker of his eyebrows raising at your promise, but he keeps his gaze fixed on the male officer while the remainder of his face stayed expressionless.

“Not yet Officer” Hux suddenly barks.

“Sir?” the officer asks looking back at Hux. This was one of the rare occasions you were actually looking forward to Ren’s arrival.

The male officer was suddenly thrown up in the air and held there as Ren entered the now clear doorway, once he progressed further inside the male officer was dropped to the ground again with a loud grunt. The officer continues to struggle in catching his breath as he pushes himself up off the ground and moving to close the door.

“Take us to your superior officer” Hux commands the now dishevelled officer.

The officer wasn’t so snarky now, he simply nods back nervously at Hux’s order. He begins hurriedly leading you all down a dimly lit corridor. You follow directly behind, then Hux and finally Ren. The outpost did not reflect the glossy exterior of the Finalizer, rust was creeping up the walls, an echo of dripping water travelled through the corridor while the few lights that were still working flickered on and off. The corridor finally gives way to a large open space, a command centre of sorts, filled with outdated monitors and workstations.

You stop just inside the large space as the male officer continued further inside, heading straight towards another officer who currently had his back turned to you. As you watch the scrawny officer speak to the unknown male you can feel Hux’s breath tickling your ear, he had started standing a little too close. Not that you minded, if anything you wanted him even closer, but not while Ren continued to loom over. Then again, the fact that you could see Ren in your periphery told you that he was standing a little closer than you would of liked too. You try subtly taking a small step forward to put a little more distance between yourself and the men.

The unknown officer abruptly spins and starts progressing directly towards you. The closer he got the more he becomes familiar to you. He had greying hair, bright blue eyes and age lines spread across his face. He carried himself very professionally, hands behind the back, back straight and shoulders broad without a lick of emotion peeking through his features. But as he was within a couple of paces of you a smile broke through his exterior,

“If it isn’t one of my best students” he exclaims as he comes to a stop in front of you. It suddenly clicks why he seemed so familiar, he taught you and Hux in the Academy. You match his smile at the realisation. He then moves his attention to Hux,

“And Hux” he says in a slightly less enthusiastic tone. He then quickly moves to salute Hux upon being reminded of his former student’s rank, which was emblazoned on his sleeve.

“Officer Sol” Hux greets him somewhat coldly. He never liked Sol in the Academy, mainly because you were the best in his navigations classes so received most of the praise. Sol’s eyes then drifted over to Ren,

“Commander Ren” Sol greets with a bow of his head. He then takes a step back to switch his attention between the three of you.

“I must apologise I wasn’t made aware of any visit from such high ranking officers”

Hux takes a small step forward,

“Just an impromptu visit Officer”, a sarcastic grin was forming across his face at the thought of making his former teacher uncomfortable, “we are in need of some new navigators for the Finalizer… Lieutenant L/N”, he gestures to you with his head, “identified the outpost as having good teachings of navigations”

“And now I know why” you interrupt with a small smile.

Sol mirrors your smile before moving to the side and outstretching a hand,

“Come, let me give you a tour, see if there are any officers suitable for your postings”, with his final word his gaze settles on Ren, in a gesture for him to follow. Begrudgingly Ren steps forwards to be guided by Sol through the dilapidated control room with you following and Hux behind you. You watch with a smile as Sol tries engaging Ren with some small talk about the First Order and the outpost, he wasn’t to know that Ren had very little interest in such matters.

You’re suddenly pulled from your observations by a large hand snaking around your waist and pulling you into Hux’s body as you both continue walking. With his grip he slowed both of you down to put more distance with Ren and Sol up ahead. Before you had time to appropriately react he lowers his head to speak,

“I always hated him” he says in a hushed tone just for the two of you.

You smile to yourself, as you subtly try pushing him away from you, not wanting to draw any attention from the other officers in the command centre. 

You move your eyes to meet his as you both continue walking,

“That’s because you weren’t his favourite” you state with a smug smile before finally freeing yourself from his grip. You quicken your pace to walk in front of him again.

“Teacher’s pet” he calls out after you.

You stop in your tracks, blocking Hux’s path with your body, as he crashes into you slightly. You turn to look at his chest, slowly moving your eyes upwards to rest on his face,

“Jealous again Huxie”, your tone sickeningly sweet. Hux rolls his eyes,

“Of that old man?” he scoffs back before pausing briefly, “not likely-“

“Oh really?” you cut him off mid-sentence as you subtly bring a hand down to grip his crotch. It was the exact reaction you had hoped for, his mouth drops open from sheer surprise and his eyes widen as he looks down at you questioningly. You begin moving your hand, gently massaging his growing hardness, before cantering your head towards him and standing on your tip toes to speak directly into his ear,

“Told you I’d get you back” you whisper.

You abruptly retract your head and hand away from him as you take a step back, putting what felt like a chasm between you both. Hux looks dazed from the sudden intimacy that had been initiated and so quickly removed, as he quickly starts blinking his eyes back to reality his features begin to tense again. He looks pissed by the predicament you had left him in but there was also a glimmer of admiration for you in his eyes. You shoot him one last sarcastic smile before quickly spinning around and walking to catch up with Ren and Sol.

You catch up to Ren and Sol as they enter another room. The room matched the rest of the outpost, dimly lit; discolouration spreading from the walls and ceilings into the workstations; and the rhythmic sound of water dripping. Old maps were displayed on the walls, ripped at every edge and the ink faded. The more you surveyed the room the more your hope of finding a team with any skill was dwindling. Your fading optimism must have shown as Sol decided to break the growing silence between the four of you,

“I know what you’re thinking L/N” he says with a smile, you look over to meet his face.

“How so Officer? I can’t even see what she’s thinking with the force”, Ren interjects somewhat bitterly.

“Maybe consider your shortcomings in your own time Ren” Hux snaps back.

Sol’s smile falters slightly but he chooses to ignore the bitter exchange between Ren and Hux,

“We don’t have the technology of the Finalizer, but all of the officers have been trained with an expansive knowledge of star and planetary systems, they will not need to rely on technology to do their job for them, only enhance their skills” he says proudly. You give him a nod in response before replying,

“Did you have anyone in mind?” you ask with a raise of your eyebrow.

“A few” he replies as he extends an arm in front of him, gesturing for you to walk with him.

Sol takes you, Hux and Ren around the small room, introducing you to some key officers before reeling out their particular skillsets and experience.

“Could you send us their records so we can discuss candidates further?” you ask Sol.

“Of course, we can use the conference room”

“This place has a conference room” Hux scoffs from behind.

“That would be good, thank you” you reply to Sol, ignoring the snobbish comment from Hux.

Surprisingly the conference room appeared less run down than the rest of the outpost. You take a seat at the long table, Hux sits next to you. Sol takes a seat opposite while Ren positions himself at the head of the table a few places down, sitting back into his chair to put his feet up on the table.

“I’ve just sent the records so they should be with you shortly” Sol says to no one in particular as you and Hux both retrieve your datapads.

“So… L/N… forgive me but I have to ask... how is it that an officer with your talent and skillset, has not progressed beyond the rank of Lieutenant?”

Your whole body tenses at his question and the reminder, you could see Hux’s do the same thing. Every time the two of you got close again it felt like someone brought it back up. Then again the only reason it had the power to annoy you so much was because _you_ were the one ignoring it, choosing not to address it with Hux out of fear of what his explanation may be. There was a snort from the end of the table as Ren repositioned himself, sitting in his seat properly and leaning over the table slightly,

“Finally… it’s starting to get interesting” he draws out every word painfully slowly.

You look up from your datapad, feigning a small smile in a bid to not show the anger it had elicited within you,

“I wish I knew” you reply through gritted teeth.

“Surely there must be some explanation?” Sol asks, a genuine element of concern evident in his face and tone.

As much as you still hated Hux for what he did, you truly did not want to go through it all again, a part of you didn’t want to trudge up the past after you and Hux had grown closer again. Though deep down you also knew you wouldn't be able to move forward without addressing it.

“It’s a long story” you finally respond.

“Yes…” Hux snaps, “and we don’t have time to go through unimportant matters now Sol… not when we have more pressing matters”

Something about Hux’s reaction flicks a switch in you to pure anger. You move your head to the side to look at him, disdain dripping from every feature of your face as you let his comment sink in. _Unimportant matters?_ Hux catches your eye for a split second before returning them to his datapad where he continues to avoid your gaze. His eyes were frantically flickering over his datapad as he avoided everyone around the table.

“I’d be scared if I were you General” Ren chuckles through the growing silence.

“Ren!”, Hux shouts as he abruptly stands, his chair being pushed backwards as he did so.

“What?”, Ren asks bringing his hands up as a wide grin grows even more, “I saw her interrogate Alula… she’s not to be messed with”

You were not in the mood to listen to another of their spats, you spin in your seat to address Hux and Ren,

“Neither of you are on the navigations team or know anything of substance about navigations… so perhaps you could _both_ make yourselves useful by inspecting the outpost’s weapons and defences, ensure they are sufficiently protected from attack”

Hux finally met your gaze, about to unleash his anger at being ordered by an officer of lower ranking but a slight narrowing of your eyes stopped him in his tracks. He let out a sigh before turning,

“Come along Ren… you can point your glowstick at something” Hux breathes out somewhat defeated.

Ren stands equally quickly, his chair also flying back with great velocity, his fists now clenching and unclenching by his side. You and Hux both roll your eyes at his behaviour,

“I don’t have time for a tantrum today Ren” he said in a quieter but still commanding tone.

Ren’s demeanour darkened, as if you could actually see his anger take a hold of his body. The atmosphere between them both was becoming increasingly tense as neither wanted to submit to the other.

“Please” you finally say, exasperated by the situation. Both men look to regard you, the tense energy now slowly starting to dissipate. Without a word Ren spins to march out of the room. Hux sighs before moving to follow him, he glances over his shoulder one last time just before exiting, you were glaring at him. He held your gaze for a moment before slowly blinking his eyes shut, almost in defeat, before returning to face his exit.

“What was that all about?” Sol breaks the silence; his words were breathy as if he had been holding his breath the whole time.

“Sol” you breathe out dropping your head slightly, “it’s everyday” you continue with a half-hearted laugh.

“What was that between you and Hux, you always got on so well in the Academy”

You drop your head further, staring at the table beneath as you try finding the right words to explain the situation.

“A few years ago”, you lift your head to meet Sol’s eyes, “Hux and I were up for the same promotion, we were matched in experience and skillset, I thought it was a level playing field, but he had other ideas”, you pause again, shuffling in your seat slightly, you still felt the pain of his betrayal and abandonment. You take another breath before continuing, “he used his father’s name to conspire with other officers and had me sent to the furthest region of the galaxy. Once he had me out of the way, he was promoted and then apparently killed his father for good measure”, you force a smile pretending it didn’t still pain you as much as it really did, but you knew the film of tears covering your eyes was probably giving you away.

“Interesting”, Sol draws his words out as he stares off into the distance. Something about the tone of his voice indicated that he knew something or at least had an opinion on the matter.

“Why’s that” you ask as you try straightening yourself out, your tone somewhat defensive.

“I was never Hux’s biggest fan in the Academy, as you well know-

“As does he” you quickly interject with a calculated tone, you weren’t sure why you felt the need to let Sol know that, but something told you Hux would want it known to Sol. Sol smiles faintly at your comment as if it pleased him.

“I think there’s more to the story than you know” he replies slowly. You narrow your eyes as you sit up straight, leaning over the table slightly more to address the man opposite,

“What do you mean?”

“Unfortunately L/N it is not for me to divulge” Sol replies.

You leave Sol’s face to stare off into the distance, tensing your jaw the more you think. You knew Sol wasn’t to blame but his comment made you see red. You lift and swiftly slam your open palm down on the table in frustration. You caught Sol flinch at your sudden outburst, but you didn’t care what he thought about you in this moment. All you could think was that _finally_ someone might have some answers or explanation about the situation and now they’re refusing to share. You return your attention to Sol, tears now pooling in your eyes, as you move to stand from your seat and lean across the table even further,

“Tell me Sol” you spit back at him. You hadn’t felt this level of anger or desperation for answers since Hux had you sent away, it consumed your body and tone giving you tunnel vision for one thing and one thing only, answers. Sol lowered his gaze as he exhaled through his nose, he paused for a moment before looking at you again,

“Have you ever actually asked him _why_ he did it L/N?” he asks.

You widen your eyes at the comment, partly in annoyance from Sol’s comment but also revelation. You open your mouth to shoot something back, but nothing comes out. You slowly retreat back off the table and slump yourself in the seat again. He was right, you hadn’t ever really asked him about it. But then you didn’t get the chance, he had you sent away and then you didn’t see him for years. There must be a reason why Sol asked you that, perhaps there _was_ more to it, maybe it wasn’t his pure ambition. You clear your throat before speaking up again,

“So…”, you straighten yourself in your chair, “who are your top recommendations for re-deployment to the Finalizer?” you ask quietly, your tone was no longer the angry and vengeful one of before, it was weaker now, almost timid. Sol seemed to pause a moment from the sudden change in topic, but he soon recomposed himself.

“Officer Kors is a stand out to me”

“Just the one officer?” you ask looking at her records on your datapad.

“Yes but she can do the work of three… reminds me a bit of you actually”

You ignore his comment, you didn’t have the mental energy to process anything other than work related matters. In a bid to keep it completely professional you simply nod back slowly as you read over her records.

“Very well” you finally reply. You close down your datapad, putting it away before finally meeting Sol’s attention again, “take me to her”.

Sol leads you out of the conference room and along the corridor, as you walked behind him Hux and Ren appear in the archway of an adjacent corridor. You briefly meet Hux’s eyeline but quickly return your gaze to the back of Sol. For some reason you couldn’t bear to look at him right now, whether it was because you were still annoyed with how he acted earlier or the recent insinuation from Sol. But in the brief moment where your eyes had met you saw his concern threatening to break through his composure, you obviously hadn’t been concealing your conflicting thoughts as well as you’d thought.

You all continue on in silence until Sol reached the workstation of a female officer. All you saw at first was her brown hair wrapped tightly into a bun, Hux would approve.

“Officer Kors”, Sol addresses the female. She immediately stands and turns to face Sol before letting her gaze drift to you, Hux and Ren also stood there. She hid her surprise well at seeing so many high ranking officers. She had brown eyes and small features, she held herself well, adhering to all protocol. She returns her gaze to Sol,

“Yes Sir?”

“You’ve been requested for re-deployment to the Finalizer to work under Lieutenant L/N on navigations” Sol replies. She wasn’t able to conceal her emotions so well this time, she looked visibly surprised, you couldn’t blame her, deployment to such a ship would be an honour for any officer.

“Sol tells me you can do the work of three officers, which is pivotal because it will be just you and I on navigations, if this is incorrect speak up now because I do not have time for officers who can’t do their job”, your previous emotions were no longer evident in your demeaner or tone, you instead sounded like any other First Order Lieutenant. Kors pauses for a moment, a little surprised from what you’d just reeled off.

“I can do the job Lieutenant” she finally declares, pushing her shoulders back to stand a little straighter as she does so.

“Very well” you reply with a nod of your head, “time to go” you continue as you turn to start heading towards the exit. You push past the bodies of both Hux and Ren.

You finally reach the exit of the base, Ren, Hux and Kors all exit for the transport ship, just as you were about to step over the threshold Sol grabs your forearm to bring you back inside. Begrudgingly you step back into the outpost, facing him and letting out a sigh as you do so,

“L/N, you have more potential than you know, you truly are an asset to the First Order”, he pauses to question himself whether his next words are the right ones, “but even you must know that this organisation we work for can force people do questionable things… seemingly unexplainable things… Hux is not immune from that… don’t let the Order take _everything_ from you”, with his final word he releases the grip he still has on your forearm.

His face is solemn, as it should be, speaking this way about the First Order could be enough to get you killed. Sol had risked his life to tell you that you should at least consider forgiving Hux, surely if a man who hates him is willing to risk everything to tell you that there _must_ be more to what Hux had done. As you consider what this meant for you and Hux and the risk Sol had taken your eyes become glassy with emotion again, worried it might suddenly overspill you begin nodding your head,

“Thank you Sol” you place a hand on his arm and give him a small smile. He places a hand over yours and mirrors your smile. You both stay like this for a moment, as if you both somehow knew it would be the last time you would ever see or speak to one other again. Sol started patting your hand before clearing his throat, you retract your hand and also clear you throat. Taking him in one last time before turning to leave the outpost, you couldn’t bare to say goodbye him.

You climb up the ramp into the transport, Ren was stood at the top ready to close it behind you,

“Finally”, he sighs, “don’t leave me alone with those two again” Ren says in a huff, with his words there is a high-pitched laugh from behind you. You turn your head to see Kors sitting right next to Hux on the seats lining the wall. She was smiling and laughing up at him, he didn’t quite match her level of emotion, but he didn’t look as tense either. You slowly turn your head again to face Ren,

“It never fails to amaze me how that man can attract so many female officers” Ren says slowly as he looks over at Kors and Hux, “but you’re better than that, right Lieutenant?” he settles his gaze on you again. You just smile back, neither confirming nor denying anything. Another high-pitched laugh breaks through the transport, you see Ren tensing,

“I can’t be around that all the way back” Ren declares as he moves to the archway leading to his private quarters, just as he disappears he then reappears in the archway, “feel free to join me” he says with a devilish smile. You roll your eyes back at him as he disappears again.

You take one of the seats on the wall, the same side as the archway leading to private quarters, opposite where Hux and Kors were sat.

“Ready for take-off” the pilot shots back as the transport begins to lift and lurch forward with sudden acceleration.

You retrieve your datapad to try busying yourself on the trip back, but you find your gaze repeatedly drifting up at the people sat across from you until you were pretty much just staring at him. As you watch him you keep repeating Sol’s words in your head. _There’s more to the story than you know. Unexplainable things. Hux is not immune_. A light vibration of your datapad pulls your attention, you have a new message from Hux,

**Hux:** Your glare is colder than the winds of this god forsaken ice planet

You look up to see him staring back at you, Kors was looking at him somewhat disappointedly from their conversation ending. You stare back at one another for an imperceptible amount of time, the intensity of his eyes on you was already having an effect. You see him move to start typing again,

**Hux:** Are you jealous?

**Hux:** Or still annoyed at me for what I said earlier?

**L/N:** I’m not jealous of her

**L/N:** And I'm not annoyed

It wasn't a lie. The anger you had felt earlier had all but gone since your final interaction with Sol. Sol's insinuations had sobered you up from the consuming emotions you had previously felt, reminding you that there were bigger things at play within the First Order. It wasn't an easy organisation to survive in, not even for Hux. You start typing a reply,

**L/N:** Just cold

**Hux:** Do you want my coat?

You pause at his question. Regardless of what he had done in the past, you believed that he cared about you now. The way he had comforted you in the medbay, the lift and last night, the way he wanted to make sure you weren't too cold. You look up at him again to see him staring wantingly at you, his stare was enough to send shivers of desire up through your body. You make a promise to yourself that you would get the truth out of him, but for now you decide you just want _him_. You type a reply,

**L/N:** I’d rather have you on top of me than your coat

You look up to see him raise an eyebrow at your change in tone.

**Hux:** That can be arranged…

Hux stands abruptly and removes his coat before walking over towards you. Once he reaches you he drapes his coat over your legs before taking the seat right next to you. Kors had fallen asleep opposite, the pilot was pre-occupied, and Ren was in his quarters, leaving just you and Hux.

Hux spreads his legs out, pressing his left thigh into your right thigh. You liked the feeling of having him next to you, your bodies connected. Hux then places a hand on your right knee, letting it rest there for a moment as he brushes his fingers across the fabric covering your knee. He then retracts his hand to slither it under his coat that covered your legs. With his hand now concealed he slowly moves his hand up your thigh, closer and closer to your core.

The rise and fall of your chest had become increasingly evident as his actions progressed, your mouth was agape as you watched his hand move, almost transfixed by his actions. He stops his advance to then move his hand inwards to your inner thigh, he splays his fingers to cover more of you and slowly moves his thumb to smooth your inner thigh over your uniform. You pull your eyes away from where his hand was under his coat to look at him, his attention was consumed by where his hand was. His mouth was also agape as he breathed heavy low breaths. His hand then continues to move upwards until he finally reaches your core, he pauses a moment before massaging your mound. Your breathing becomes even more noticeable as he starts to build the pleasure within you. He finally lifts his gaze to meet your eyes, you take in the pleasure evident on the other’s face before Hux quickly closes the gap, crashing his lips into yours again. You bring a hand up to the side of his face as he continued moving his hand over your core, gently hitting your bundle of nerves, you moan into his mouth. He was quickly building your pleasure to tipping point, in a haze you forget how to kiss, you mouth open against his as small whimpers leave you. You tip your head back against the wall behind, granting him access to your exposed neck which he quickly seizes upon. The sound and sensation of his own heavy breathing was sending an aching pleasure throughout your body. He takes your ear lobe between his teeth before whsipering into your ear,

“I want you in my quarters when we get back” he whispers, you just about manage to supress a small moan from his words. You try bucking your hips into his hand for more of him.

“But we have to start getting ready for the attack” you stammer out as thoughts and words become increasingly difficult to find.

“It’s an order Lieutenant…”, this time you couldn’t supress the small moan that his commanding words elicited.

But the sound of a door closing from the archway brought you swiftly back to reality. Hux ceased his movements but kept his hand on your inner thigh and under his coat which still covered your legs. You both quickly open your datapads again, pretending to work.

Ren re-enters the main body, he surveys the space but you both keep your attentions on your datapads. Nightfall on Luma and the general low light of the transport aided in hiding Hux’s hand which still gripped your inner thigh. Eventually Ren moves to take a seat, directly next to you. You internally roll your eyes at now being completely trapped between the two men. Your heart now racing, but this time from fear rather than excitement. Ren then decides to spread his own legs out to press into your left thigh, his sudden contact makes you jump, you instinctively move your thigh away and press it against your right thigh, trapping Hux’s hand even more.

There was a low chuckle from Ren at your reaction, which you ignore in hopes it will diffuse the interaction quicker. You continue staring down at your datapad when you feel a twitch from Hux’s fingers between your thighs, he starts to lightly brush his thumb over your slit again. As much as the situation terrified you, you had to admit that it was somewhat of a turn on to have the General’s hand massaging your pussy as _the_ Commander Ren sat directly next to you none the wiser. You press your thighs together even more in a bid to warn him against whatever he was planning but it only added to the pleasure he was quickly re-building.

Your datapad starts vibrating,

**Hux:** Can I have my hand back?

You smile internally as you slowly relax your thighs allowing him to subtly slip his hand out. He rests it by his side for a moment next to where your own was resting under his coat. He then takes your hand into his own, lacing your fingers together under the coat, so you were still hidden from the other eyes on the ship. Your heart swells at his gesture, it felt so natural, the two of you there together, holding one another whilst working.

Time seemed to go so quickly; you were already making your final approach on the Finalizer. You see from the windows you are just about to enter the hangar when you get another message,

**Hux:** Don’t forget... my quarters.

Just the thought of what lay ahead sent a bolt of attraction and desire through your entire body. When he sees you’ve read his message he removes his intertwined hand from yours and goes to put his datapad away. You copy his actions, holding onto his coat as you stand before discreetly placing it on the seat behind you for him to retrieve.

You give each other one last look before both moving to the ramp, walking side by side as you descended back onto the Finalizer.


	9. Revelations

You descend the ramp into the hangar, which was looking even more intense than usual with activity, officers were running around everywhere with resources from Luma as everyone prepared to leave again. There was an officer waiting at the bottom of the ramp,

“Lieutenant L/N, re-fuelling is complete, we’re currently detaching from the pumps, just awaiting the Finalizer’s next course”

“Thank you” you reply, the officer nods and promptly turns to begin marching away.

You turn to Hux,

“I’ll head to the bridge now, start setting our course for D’Qar”

You didn’t wait for his reaction before marching across the hangar, weaving yourself between all of the movement. When you reach the bank of lifts you notice Kors powerwalking behind you, you’d forgotten she was even here,

“Shadow me for the rest of today as we set our next course and tomorrow I’ll introduce you more to your responsibilities”

“Yes Lieutenant” Kors replies, slightly breathy from her speed walking. For the remainder of your journey to the bridge you and Kors were in silence, you were doing mental check lists of everything that needed to be completed before the Finalizer could leave.

As you round the corner into the bridge there was a rabble of officers waiting in the middle of the bridge, all vying for your attention with different questions about the re-fuelling, the next destination for the Finalizer and the lift out of Luma’s atmosphere. You address every one of them with ease, knowing the answer to every one of their queries and giving new orders to get everything ready. It felt good to be back on the Finalizer, doing your job well and it felt like the First Order was finally on their way to finishing this conflict. You were feeling good about everything, the Order had the location of the rebel base, there was Hux’s hyperspace tracking as a back-up and of course _you_ had Hux later. Just the thought of him reminds you of where his hand was not too long ago, a shiver wrapping itself around your core as your heart starts to beat just that little quicker.

Once you finally clear the rabble of officers wanting your attention you see Mitaka who was previously hidden behind the group.

“Nice to have you back L/N” he says with a smile before flickering his gaze to Kors stood behind you and then back to you.

“Nice to be back, this is Officer Kors, she’s just been recruited to navigations”, Mitaka looks at her again, out of politeness rather than interest, before focussing on you,

“Catch up later?” he asks with an arched eyebrow.

_Later_. You feel blood flood your cheeks, though you couldn’t confirm whether you looked as red as you felt, you falter for a moment as you quickly think of an excuse,

“I have a lot of work to catch up on tonight… how about tomorrow?”

Mitaka works to hide his disappointment before re-composing himself,

“Sounds good” he says with an evidently fake smile.

You carry on to your workstation, with Kors in tow. You pull up schematics of the Finalizer on the monitor to confirm you had now successfully detached from the fuelling pumps before finding your flight plan to D’Qar. You begin transferring the data across to the Finalizer’s navigations equipment. As you work on transferring the information the General enters the bridge, you didn’t need to turn around to know it was him. You recognise the rhythm of his march and the subtle way the mood and atmosphere on the bridge would change whenever he was there.

“Right everyone let’s get a move on!” Hux shouts into the bridge.

With your eyes fixed on the data in front of you, you begin to notice the sound of his footsteps growing louder, your heart beats slightly faster with every one of his footsteps in anticipation.

“Lieutenant L/N”, you spin to see him stood a few paces away from you, the tone he uses for your name was smooth like honey and somehow felt deeply intimate. But he quickly switches back to his usual General’s voice with no hint of his feelings, “have we fully detached from Luma’s fuelling port?”

“Yes Sir, we’re ready to leave” you state back.

“Very good” he affirms with a nod of his head.

Hux walks back into the centre of the bridge where he usually stands, in the centre of all the bustle, full control over everything and everyone there. You watch him for a moment, admiration beaming from you as you observe his authority over everyone. You return to your monitor to continue transferring information and task Kors with double checking some coordinates on another monitor next to yours. As you’re working you feel a shift travel through the ship, the Finalizer was beginning to rise out of Luma’s atmosphere. You take a moment to stand, looking out of the window and down to the white planet beneath. As you stare down you mind starts drifting over what happened at the outpost and what Sol had said to you. You suddenly become aware of someone stood next to you also looking out of the window, but maybe a couple of paces to your side. You move your head slightly to catch a flash of flame coloured hair in your periphery, you smile to yourself before turning your head completely to admire his side profile.

His face had a sense determination written all over his features, he was excited to be back on his ship. He was determined to finish the resistance for good and he was apparently determined to have you too. You let your eyes trail over his face, admiring his strong prominent nose and his full lips, his perfectly combed hair and the way his flame coloured side burns trail down the side of his face.

“It’s rude to stare” he says softly, attempting to have a light hearted moment with you. He was quiet enough just for you to hear as he keeps his gaze fixed out of the window. You quickly return your own attention to the window, faintly smiling to yourself.

“Sorry Sir, I’ll stop”, you match his quiet tone.

“No” Hux quickly retorts, his voice slightly louder but not enough to pull the attention of anyone else, he pauses a moment, “don’t ever stop” he says in a soft hushed tone. You can’t help yourself; you turn to look at him but he’s already looking at you. Your heart instantly starts beating quicker, he had you locked in his emerald green eyes, the stare feels deeply intimate as if he was looking directly into your mind and soul. His expression was one you didn’t see often, pure admiration breaking through his strong facial features. The more you look back at one another the more everything around you seems to melt away, you couldn’t hear the bustle of officers anymore, only your own heartbeat in your ears. It felt as though it was only you and him there.

“General Hux” shouts an officer from behind, your stare and sense of extreme intimacy finally being broken in the process. Hux looks over his shoulder before back to you, he canters his body forward slightly, making sure no one would hear his next words,

“I will see you later L/N” he says slowly, his words dripping with intention, like he already knew exactly what he was going to do to you. You gulp and nod back to him before he walks away, you return to your monitor to send the final flight plans to other officers which would allow the Finalizer to enter lightspeed to D’Qar.

“Prepare for lightspeed everyone” Hux shouts into the bridge. With his last word there was a sudden rumble as the ship lurched forward. The twinkling stars were now flying past you as nothing but flashing white lines. You were officially all on your way to attack.

Officers occasionally come up to you asking questions about your next destination and ETA’s. Kors starts asking questions about the navigation equipment to which you start explaining away, going off on tangents to other topics, you don’t realise how much time has passed until Mitaka interrupts you,

“L/N?”, you and Kors both turn to face the man. “General Hux has sent me to retrieve you”, just hearing his name come from Mitaka’s mouth makes you nervous, blood rushing to your cheeks again, you raise an eyebrow at his words,

“Retrieve me?” you laugh back. Mitaka’s face didn’t match your joviality.

“He wishes to see you about the flight plan to D’Qar… he’s working out of his private quarters”, Mitaka’s tone was deadpan, his lack of tone was indication enough to you that he was not happy about something.

“Okay” you draw out, “I think I can find my own way there though” you say with a small smile. You wanted to spare Mitaka the indignity of accompanying you to Hux’s room. You turn to Kors, “we can finish for today, I’ll get an officer to show you to your quarters”.

“I’ll take her” Mitaka pipes up, you look up at him, “I’m going that way anyway” he continues, as though he needed to explain to you why he was offering.

“Okay, thank you”, you move to stand, Kors matches your movements, you move your attention between them both, “I’ll see you both tomorrow”. Without waiting for a response from either one you begin walking across the bridge, headed directly for Hux.

You enter the lift, there were a few other officers all getting off at various levels before the one you needed, so you take the time to double check the messages on your datapad. There are five new unread messages from Hux. You smile to yourself; you had no doubt he was asking where you were or why you were taking so long. As you scroll through the messages you see Sol’s name, the information he had sent you about officer’s earlier. His final words start to echo around your mind again, quickly taking away that excitement you had from wanting to see Hux. As much as you want nothing more than to go to his quarters and surrender yourself to his every touch and whim you know that you'll never be able to escape the past before you know why he did what he did. He owes you that much. You make a promise to yourself, and Sol, to get the truth.

The last of the other officers had exited the lift, the doors about to open to the level you need. As the doors slowly slide open your vision becomes consumed by black robes, Ren was stood just over the threshold, his mask on. You note that he must be on his way to see the Supreme Leader, he only tended to wear it around Snoke since the scavenger scarred his face.

“Lost Lieutenant?” comes a low crackling tone through his vocoder.

You pause a moment in panic as you try thinking of a believable excuse as to why you would be in a lift headed to a level that contained the private quarters of exclusively high ranking officers. You hear what you think is a low smirk escape his mask.

“You’re trying to hide what you’re really doing” he says slowly, you curse yourself for letting that much slip through to him as you frantically block the rest of your mind off, you try slipping past him to get out of the lift but he quickly side steps to block your way. He cocks his head, looking down at you. You feel him trying to pry your mind open, it was a painful act, but you were resisting, digging your fingernails into your palms in an effort to hide the pain he was inflicting on you. The silent struggle continues between you both for a moment before you let out a smirk at him. You didn’t necessarily mean to laugh at him, but you just thought how much he must have hated that a lowly Lieutenant was resisting him, a supposedly all-powerful force user. He immediately takes a step back, you feel almost immediate relief as he ceases trying to open your mind, he straightens his head again,

“Something funny?” he asks with a threatening tone.

“Absolutely not” you say with a smug grin, slowly shaking your head.

A silent pause begins to draw out between you both again, you couldn’t see his face, but you keep your eyes fixed on where you imagine his eyes are. You knew you couldn’t break the stare or move, the first to do that would be submitting. You also know that if he’s on his way to the Supreme Leader this interaction would have a time limit, and you just needed to wait it out. You notice the sound of leather stretching as he clenches and unclenches his fists. After another few moments Ren eventually side steps, giving you a clear exit. You widen your smile slightly at him,

“Thank you Commander Ren”, your tone too sweet to be sincere.

You walk along the corridor, doing one last look over your shoulder to make sure Ren or any other officers were not present to see where you were going.

You stand outside Hux’s door, tapping the keypad to ring him.

The door suddenly rises up, Hux filling the doorway. He straightens himself out, his arms behind his back, no greatcoat much to your disappointment.

“Lieutenant L/N” he states in his General voice, no doubt keeping up formalities in case anyone was around. “What took you so long?”

“A small run-in with Ren”, Hux’s face immediately tenses at the mere mention of his name, “nothing to worry about Sir” you add with a small smile. He mirrors your smile before leaning out of the doorway, looking in both directions down the corridor. He then quickly grips hold of your forearm, desperately pulling you into his quarters. You stumble in, his grip on your arm the only thing stopping you from falling to the floor, you hear the door close again. Before you had chance to register anything Hux had his hands on your shoulders pushing you against the wall of the small corridor that led into his living area. He quickly connects your lips together, moving his hands up from your shoulders to rest on your cheeks. Without wasting any more time his tongue breaks through into your mouth, feverishly exploring as much of you as he could get. You were soon becoming lost in a lust filled haze from his touch. You try turning your head to the side to break the kiss, but it didn’t stop him, he starts kissing your neck as his hands move to start working at the zipper of your jacket. He manages to get the zip half way down when you finally break through your haze to speak up,

“Hux, wait”, your tone breathy. He pulls away, taking a small step back.

“You want me to stop?”, his face was a combination of bewilderment, surprise and disbelief.

“Well no but-” you were cut off as he nuzzles his face between your neck and shoulder, kissing up your neck as his hands roam your chest. His actions were enough to disable you again for a moment, you were quickly becoming undone by him.

“Hux” you say a little louder as you lightly push him off you. Him not touching you was the only way you could keep your head straight long enough to say what you wanted to him. This time his brows were furrowed in frustration.

“We need to talk” you try stating with determination,

“About?”, he asks with disinterest as his eyes slowly rake over your body, imagining how he wants to rip your uniform off.

You move your head to the side for a moment as you try thinking of the best words, you knew no matter how you worded it, it would piss him off. You gulp before meeting his intense eyes again,

“I need to know” you start,

“Know what?” he quickly asks, his rushed response and short responses told you he was itching to get his hands on and tongue inside you again.

“I need to know why you did it… why you sent me away” your voice was low, almost a whisper and your tone timid as if you were scared of how he would react. You could already feel a film of tears coat your eyes, thinking about his betrayal never failed to elicit some form of emotional response from you, be it tears, anger or frustration. Hux stares back at you for a moment in silence, his expression was stern.

“I don’t want to talk about that” he says firmly taking a step back.

“But why?”, you take a step forward.

“I don’t see how it’s relevant” he starts, “why are you asking me about this now?” he asks with a flurry of his hand as his tone becomes less firm and controlled and more frustrated and exaggerated. “We’ve been getting on haven’t we? Why ruin it?”

“Sol said-”

“Sol?” he scoffs as he tips his head back, “I don’t see how it’s any of _his_ business… I’ll see to it that he’s reprimanded for his behaviour” he spits, his fists now firmly clenched, his knuckles almost completely white.

“Hux, he was just trying-”

“If you want to talk so much you should have done it with him because I’m not interested”, with his final word he turns to storm down the corridor leading to his living quarters, just before he reaches the end he shouts back angrily, “let yourself out”.

You watch him walk away, feeling a mixture of anger and sadness towards him. You couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t just tell you the truth. You look back at his door as you slowly start moving towards it to leave but as you walk a memory of Sol flashes to the forefront of your mind, _‘don’t let the First Order take everything from you’_. The memory of his words gave you a fresh burst of motivation, _were you really going to give up this easily?_ Gathering everything you had you turn and begin storming after him with just as much anger as he had shown you.

The corridor opens into his living quarters, it was not dissimilar from Ren’s only much tidier and organised, with better interior design. You’d expect nothing less. The space had the familiar glossy black walls, floor and ceiling but with small splashes of colour from cushions on the sofa and the books and small trinkets covering his bookshelves. At the back of the square room was a small sleek kitchen on the left with a dining table and chairs to the side on the right overlooking the galaxy from the floor to ceiling window. In the centre of the room were two rounded leather sofas with a glass coffee table between them both. Bookshelves lined the whole left wall, wrapping round to the archway situated in the middle of the right wall, leading into his bedroom. As you storm into the room more of it comes into view, on your immediate left in the corner was his desk where a monitor and papers were neatly situated. A single desk light was the only light on in the large room.

Your stormy entrance was quickly quelled when you see Hux’s figure stood leaning against his desk, his frame was hunched slightly as he used his arms to wrap around himself, he was staring vacantly at the floor. His anger from just a moment before nowhere to be seen. Something about him was just so sad, your own fresh anger quickly dissipates upon seeing him like this.

“Hux”, you start quietly, your voice quivers slightly from the mixture of emotions that were all fighting to be released, “please… I just need the truth… I don’t care how bad it is… I just need an explanation… you owe me that much”. You start taking slow tentative steps towards him, scared that he might suddenly demand you leave.

He lifts his head to acknowledge you, making you freeze in place. For the first time his features seem to show everything he was feeling, pure vulnerability, worry and fear. He looked like a completely different man to the one on the bridge, his eyes look sad and his features somehow weakened. He takes in your face long enough to see your own sadness before dipping his head down again.

“I can’t” he says quietly, his own voice sounding close to breaking.

“Why?” you ask softly taking another step closer to him. He pulls his arms around himself a little tighter before lifting his head to you again. He scrunches his nose as he presses his lips together,

“Because I don’t want to lose you again” he says quietly.

“You never lost me” you reply softly with a small shake of your head, “you sent me away… and I hated you everyday for years because of it… I trusted you”, your voice breaks with your final words so you quickly bring a hand up to cover your mouth, attempting to stifle your tears. After a moment you remove your hand, Hux doesn’t look directly at you, as if seeing you upset would cause his own flood barriers to open, but you catch him shifting you into his periphery.

Hux looks at the wall to his side, his face scrunching as he tries to stop the outpouring of emotions he was feeling from consuming him entirely. He finally looks back at you, his eyes narrowed as he arches his head forward a little,

“You may hate me for what I did…” he spits venomously before pausing, his features begin to soften again as his eyes glisten with tears. The tone of his voice turning much softer now, “…but I did it because I love you” he says with a slight shrug of his shoulders and a sad smile.

You don’t react, you don’t know how to, but you keep your eyes locked with his. You’d been preparing yourself for many explanations that you’d devise in your head, mainly involving his selfishness, his ambition but never his love.

“I’ve been in love with you ever since our first conversation at the Academy. I just waited, _hoped_ , every day that one day you might feel the same… and then you did. Those nights we spent together, our conversations…” he trails off before pausing for a moment, you see the bob of his Adam's apple as he swallows, “I’ve never known love… not from my family or anyone else… but _I know_ it’s what I feel whenever I’m with you”. He pauses again to take in your reaction. You stare back at him, your eyes wide, mouth open and heart racing. You only just register that he had stopped talking, your mouth suddenly becomes very dry at the prospect of having to say something to him, you swallow. Hux can obviously see you still have questions before he breaks the silence again,

“I didn’t care about that promotion” he shakes his head gently as his gaze trails down to the floor again, “all my life I’ve been conditioned to only want and serve the First Order… but you”, he lifts his head to meet your eyes again, a small smile tugging at his lips, “ _you_ made me forget about all that… all I wanted was you”. His face suddenly becomes tense again,

“I still don’t know how my father found out… but I was already a great disappointment to him so the notion of anyone getting in the way of my career really was abhorrent to him… he promised to take everything away from me... everything being you”. Hux pauses again, you see him swallow again before lifting his eyes to yours, “he promised me that he would have you killed”. You can see tears pooling in his eyes now, he holds your gaze for as long as he could before turning to the side again, sniffling before continuing,

“I begged, pleaded, with the few allies I had to have you transferred away so he couldn’t find you. Phasma eventually agreed to help. I had to tell her that I wanted to usurp my father by killing him and you were just some random officer in the way of a cover-up, that’s why she doesn’t recognise you”. Hux’s eyes seem to glisten a little brighter again as the low light from his desk light catches the tears still in his eyes, “when he found out you were gone he knew it was me… he… he told me that it wouldn’t stop him. That he knew officers on every one of the First Order’s destroyers”, he looks at you intently, you can see the pain in his eyes, “in that moment it was him or you… and I chose _you_ ”. Hux shuffles his feet slightly where he leans against his desk, “I killed him... to protect you... Phasma helped me to cover it up, and I was promoted”, he pauses again to sniff, “so now you know”, he shuffles his feet before looking up to you.

You’re still stunned into complete silence. You couldn’t begin to comprehend the sacrifices the man you had spent years hating had made to protect you. A feeling of regret and guilt begins to wash over you,

“Hux wh-“

“Don’t”, he cuts you off suddenly as he shakes his head, for a moment you think he’s going to tell you to leave, that he doesn’t want you there, “don’t call me that… you know my name”.

You pause as your lip begins to quiver, you’re close to completely breaking down in front of him. You knew what it meant to him to have you use his name, he never let anyone use it, most people don’t even know what it is. So you immediately understand the power he was giving you over him in using it,

“Armitage”, you start but have to pause again to stop your emotions from flooding out, you wipe a tear away just as it starts to fall, “why couldn’t you have just told me at the time, we could have come up with a plan together” you plead taking another step closer to him.

“I had to be sure it would work, you not knowing assured that… it was easier to have you hate me _every day_ for the rest of our lives than to lose you entirely”, he bows his head to stare at the floor again.

His words make you catch your breath. You unconsciously take another step closer to him, moving your hands to cup his cheeks in your hands. Hux lifts his head at the sudden contact, you stare deeply into the green forests of his eyes, the more you look the more he allows you to see his complete sincerity. His revelations were allowing you to unlock your own feelings towards him, you were starting to undserstand why his actions had upset you so much, why you would still think about him every day. You wipe away a falling tear from his cheek with your thumb while blinking away your own tears threatening to fall. You close the final wedge of space between you both to kiss him. He loosens the arms he has wrapped around him as he relaxes into you. Your kiss was long and heartfelt, you never wanted to break it, you wanted him to know you were there and you weren’t going anywhere. You eventually pull back, your hands still resting on his cheeks,

“I love you Armitage”, you start nodding your head as tears pool again, “I loved you back then too, I don’t think I ever stopped, even when I thought I hated you. I thought about you every day, the reason", you pause to swallow your tears, "the reason it hurt me so much was because I loved you too”.

Hux starts blinking his tears away, the sadness in his eyes was slowly melting away, the glimmer from tears now looked something closer to hope. His eyes start dancing over your face, mapping your features as though he had to confirm the sincerity of emotions you were showing him. His eyes finally rest on yours again, there was a twitch of his eyebrows before he wraps his arms around you pulling you into a tight hug. He nuzzles his face into your shoulder as you reciprocate by putting your arms around him, both pulling to bring the other even closer. In silence, you just hold one another for a while, as if you were making up for all the time you spent apart.

You hear a sniffle before Hux starts speaking again,

“That day when I saw you on the bridge again” Hux starts speaking into the crook between your shoulder and neck before pulling back to look at you, “I fell in love with you all over again” he lifts a hand to rest on your cheek as his gaze flickers between your eyes and lips, you tip your head into his hand, “I was horrible to you when I came back… it was the only way I could think to have a reason to talk to you… without telling you everything… but then the attack”, Hux’s features visibly tense again with mention of the attack as his tone became distressed, “I couldn’t bear to see you in so much pain”

You cut him off by bringing a hand to rest over his that still cupped your cheek,

“Shhhhh it’s okay” you whisper before pausing for a moment, “I was doing the same… I secretly looked forward to our spats really” you smile at him which he reciprocates as you remove his hand from your cheek to bring it to your lips to kiss his fingers. You lace your fingers with his, holding both his hands as you lean your body against his, you look up at him,

“What does this mean though… for us? If anyone were to find out we may as well put the targets on our own backs”. Hux sighs before resting his chin atop your head,

“I’m not losing you Y/N”, his voice is low and quiet but with a clear sense of determination lacing his words. He lifts his head to look down at you again, “we’re our best when we’re together… I championed Starkiller base, completely overhaled the stormtrooper programme and it got me and the First Order nowhere… I needed _you_ ”, he starts to smile, “one trip with you and you’ve already solved a seemingly impossible issue with hyperspace tracking… and made me feel things I didn’t think I would ever feel again”, you smile up at him before he places a long thoughtful kiss on your forehead. He presses his forehead into yours,

“We’ll figure it out…I’m never letting you go again Y/N… that’s a promise”

You squeeze his hands in yours at his words, you feel an overwhelming sense of warmth and belonging with him, you feel as though you have everything you could ever want from life. You pull apart from his forehead to look at him,

“Armitage” you say quietly, words were escaping you, or there weren’t words accurate enough to describe how he made you feel. You kiss him again, your tongues quickly break through to one another, conversing in ways that words never could. He disconnects your hands to pull you in closer to him by the your waist. You move your own hands to link behind his neck, lightly playing with the ends of his hair while they rest there. Your kiss soon deepens, you lose all sense of time, the feeling of him consuming every one of your senses as a thick haze covers your perception.

Hux lifts himself from where he was still leaning on his desk to stand, his hands on your waist begin to slowly trail down and around to the backside of your upper thighs to lift you up. You wrap your legs around him, lightly laughing into his mouth, he smiles into your kiss. He starts walking with you wrapped around him, never breaking your kiss.

He finally pulls away when he walks into his bedroom. On the left, there was no wall, just floor to ceiling windows displaying the galaxy in all its beauty. In the middle of the room was his large bed facing out to the window. Bookshelves also lined his bedroom walls, a collection of various books and trinkets that he’s collected over the years were placed neatly across them. Behind the bed's headboard was a chest of drawers and further back against the wall was a large wardrobe and a large mirror situated in the corner between the back and right walls of the room. In the centre of his right wall was another archway leading into his refresher.

He carries you to the side of his bed before spinning and sitting on the edge with you straddling his lap. You re-adjust your position to push your core into his, as you do so you feel his hardening length through his trousers making you clench with desire. You move your hands back to his cheeks to kiss him deeply again. You become lost in the moment, allowing your desire to drive your actions. You forcefully push his head back and lift yourself slightly to kiss him from above, he hums back in pleasure from your sudden forcefulness. His hands move round to grip your hips tightly, rocking your core over his concealed member with increasing pace, grazing your bundle of nerves with every rock.

You pull away from the kiss but keep your face hovering above his,

“I want to see what’s under your uniform” you purr, your lips ghosting over his as you speak.

“Been thinking about it a lot have you?” he smiles up at you.

“Hmmmm, I’m pretty sure the amount of time I spend thinking about my General being naked would be considered insubordination” you tease before beginning to unzip his jacket, to your delight he wasn’t wearing anything under his jacket today. You start working the belt of his jacket to remove it completely. Hux looks between your fumbling hands and your face,

“You know I can’t let any insubordination pass without some form of reprimand L/N” he teases, still rocking your core over his member.

“I wouldn’t want you too” you whisper against his lips. You feel him shudder beneath you before rolling his shoulders to frantically start removing his jacket himself, you laugh at his eagerness. With his jacket removed he throws it over his shoulder and returns his hands to your hips to move your core over his,

“I never thought I’d see you treat your uniform like that Sir” you tease before bringing your hands down to smooth over the skin covering his broad shoulders. He scoffs as he brings his hands up behind your neck to release your hair from its ponytail and burying his hands in your fallen strands,

“I’d happily burn my uniform in front of the Supreme Leader himself to feel you against my skin” he replies before beginning to kiss you jawline and returning his hands to your hips. You let a small moan pass your lips at his comment before kissing him, you start rocking your hips to surpass the speed he was rocking you over his crotch, you wanted more of him and you wanted it now. Hux growls into your mouth at the increased speed before abruptly standing with you still wrapped around him. You release your grip, letting your feet meet the ground again before breaking the kiss and quickly removing your boots. Hux considers your actions for a moment before promptly mirroring your actions. You both start to frantically remove the remainder of your clothes, throwing them to all corners of the room, laughing at how the other would frivolously disregard their uniform.

With both of you completely naked, Hux doesn’t waste any time in grabbing hold of your waist to start backing you against the window, the cold glass stinging against your skin. He begins kissing your neck, moving lower and lower down your body with every kiss until he crouches down in front of you. He’s eye level with the healing scar that still covered the side of your abdomen, he lightly traces over the healing scar with his thumb as he analyses it intensely. He looks as if he was recanting everything about the attack before he tenderly kisses the area, paying it extra attention. He returns to his full height again, pressing his bare chest against your own, one hand pressed against the glass by the side of your head. His other hand rests just at the top of your mound, enough to light up your bundle of nerves as sparks dance across your slit. He moves his lips to your ear,

“I’ve been thinking about having you here ever since I had my hand between your thighs on that transport” he whispers.

You tip your head back against the glass, fluttering your eyelashes as he slowly moves his hand down between your folds,

“Right here?” you ask feigning innocence, he grunts at your playful tone,

“I want to fuck you in front of the galaxy” he says deviously before his fingers finally find your entrance. You immediately gasp, tipping your head back even further as you arch your back to push your core against his hand even more.

He begins pumping his fingers inside of you, evidence of your pleasure soon abundantly obvious, Hux smirks from your bodies response to his touch. He moves his mouth to your collarbones, kissing and nipping at the skin to leave a faint trail of purple marks. You wrap your arms around his back as his pumps become faster and deeper, digging your nails into his skin the closer he was getting you.

As much as you were enjoying everything he was giving you right now, you wanted _him_ inside you.

“Enough teasing… I want you… all of you” you whisper breathlessly into his ear.

Hux grunts at the combination of your words and nails still digging into his back. He abruptly removes his fingers to grip onto your hips and flip you round, pressing your front into the glass. At this point you were very grateful that you were in lightspeed so there was no chance of any TIE pilots doing a fly-by to see you completely unravel under the hand of your General.

You feel Hux line himself up with your entrance before he finally pushes his hard length all the way inside, you both let out a moan at the same time. His hands grip your waist, you rest your left hand over his as you move your head to the side and bring your right hand up to his neck to guide his mouth to yours, kissing him over your shoulder.

Your kiss was messy and desperate, just another way to connect yourselves as you touch and taste one another. His teeth scrape your lower lip as your tongues enter some sort of hot wet combat over the other. Your tongues became ever more frantic the more Hux continues to thrust into you, filling you completely every time. Your tongues eventually cease their movements the closer you both got to release, your mouths just open against one another as you pant.

In one swift movement Hux seizes control of both your hands by interlinking his fingers with yours and pressing both pairs of hands into the glass in front as he pushes his body against you even more, pinning you between the glass and him. You feel his warm breath against your ear as he picks up his pace even more, pumping into you furiously, spreading you open, his intensity has you moaning with every thrust.

“Say my name” he pants into your ear.

“General Hux”, you moan with a particularly deep thrust.

“No, _my_ name”, his desire for more intimacy sent another bolt of attraction through you.

“Armitage” you whimper. With the use of his name you hear him moan as he thrust hard into you again, close to the point of lifting you off the ground entirely, your eyes roll to the back of your head. His movements were becoming less regular and more sporadic as he reached his own release.

“Fuck Armitage, I want, I want…”

“Whatever you want I’ll give it to you” he says breathlessly against your neck.

“I want you to fill me up”, your request sends him over the edge, he moans into your ear. You feel a warmth spreading through you as he spills himself into you, never stopping his thrusts in the process. The sound of his pleasure sends you over your own edge, your orgasm ripping through your entire body like a bolt of lightning. You were seeing stars, and not the ones flying past outside. It was a good job he had pinned against the glass; you could already feel that your trembling limbs would not be enough to support your weight.

Hux finally ceases his thrusting, resting his body against the back of yours. After a few more moments he removes himself from inside you, making you feel impossibly empty without him in the process. He unlaces his fingers from yours, but you don’t move from where you are still pressed against the glass.

“Y/N?”

“You’ll have to give me a minute” you say with a light chuckle. But without warning you’re suddenly being lifted and cradled into his chest. You look up at him as he smiles down, the more you look the you feel pure love burning through every fibre of your being. And the more he looks back the more certain you become that he is feeling the exact same thing.

He starts walking you both to his refresher,

“Maybe I should go a little easier on you next time” he smirks down at you.

“Don’t you dare” you smile deviously back at him.

He carries you into the refresher, still cradling you as he turns on the shower.

“Think you can stand now?” he asks still smiling, he was clearly very pleased with the effect he had on you. You nod back before he carefully puts you down, you still need to use the wall for support. He takes a sponge and soap to carefully and lovingly clean you. All you can do is stand, watching him intently, completely transfixed by the man in front of you.

Once you are both clean he wraps you in a towel. Feeling more control over your own body now you head back into his room to retrieve your underwear from the corners they had been thrown to, you faintly register him moving around the room behind you. You pick up your trousers, looking down at them you pause for a moment. _Did he want you to stay?_ You hadn’t exactly discussed sleeping arrangements or defined your relationship with him. A horrible feeling of doubt begins creeping into your mind.

“I hope you’re not thinking of going anywhere other than this bed with me Y/N”. You turn to see him sat up in his bed under the covers, staring over at you intently.

It was as if he knew exactly what you were thinking and quelled your doubts immediately. You smile widely back at him dropping the trousers before skipping over and jumping on to the bed with him. He quickly pulls the covers back for you to climb in with him. He pulls your body into his, you nestle your back against his chest as he pulls the covers over you both. He wraps an arm around your waist and intertwines your legs together. Your heart was swelling, filling your chest entirely from the way he wanted you close to him. You twist your body in his arms to find his face,

“I love you Armitage”

His eyes widen and his mouth drops open slightly, almost a look of disbelief, like he’d only just realised that this was real and not a dream. A wide grin begins to spread across his face, a rare sight for this man. There were faint lines coming from the corners of his eyes and dimples appear in his cheeks, he looked so much younger, more handsome, more _him_. The man you thought you had lost, the one you knew so well was right here in front of you and he truly was a sight to behold, you can feel yourself falling more in love with him, if that was even possible.

“I love you too” he says back softly. His eyes were glistening with tears again as he looks down at you. You move your head to his to kiss him before nestling into his chest again as he pulls you even tighter against him. You hear his gentle breaths as they lightly tickle over the side of your face and you feel his heartbeat thrumming against you, all lulling you into a peaceful sleep, the type of sleep you hadn’t experienced in years.


	10. Morning After

You feel warm, warmer than you’d usually be, comfortable too, far more comfortable than in your own pitiful bed. You stir against the bed covers beneath you, revelling in this far superior bed. You slowly blink your eyes open; the room was still dark with only a faint white glow from the rushing stars outside. The light was just enough for you to make him out, Armitage, lying asleep in front of you. You can’t stop the large smile that begins to spread across your face, you start remembering everything from last night, your heart starts pumping a little quicker when you remember how he admitted that he loves you.

The white glow graces his features beautifully, you prop yourself up on an elbow to get a better view of his sleeping face, you start memorising every little feature. His usually tense features were totally relaxed making him look younger and softer. Your eyes drift up to his hair, it had become messier in the night making the coppery strands look almost fluffy, a few messy strands having fallen near one of his eyes. You carefully take your hand out from under the covers, careful not to disturb him when he was looking so peaceful, to push the strands back amongst the rest of his hair. Since your hand was so close to his face you couldn’t resist but touch him. You want to fully explore his face, analyse every feature and memorise them so they become engrained in your mind. You use your fingertips to ever so lightly trace over the outline of his soft lips, you'd always loved his beautifully perfect cupid’s bow. You start moving your hand upwards to gently smooth over the skin of his cheek when he starts stirring. Those beautiful lips beginning to turn upwards into a smile,

“Good morning my love” he hums, his eyes still closed.

“Morning” you say back softly, a wide smile still across your face. You remove your hand from his face.

He opens his eyes with your greeting, the green of his eyes now captivating all of your attention. His smile grows even wider the longer you stare back at one another.

“Did you sleep well?” he asks with a flicker of concern, his smile decreasing slightly.

“I can’t remember the last time I slept that well” you smile back before removing your elbow to lie back down again, turning your head to face him.

“No nightmares or flashbacks?”

“None” you say proudly with a smile. His concern melts away, a smile replacing it again. He shuffles himself a little closer to you, resting his hand on your waist, smoothing over the space between the curve of your hips and ribcage. You return your hand to his cheek, smoothing over his skin again, he canters his head into your hand for more of your touch. You smile at his desire for more contact. Looking into his eyes and feeling him against you, you are the happiest you have ever been before. But as soon as your newly found happiness arrives a sense of realisation quickly follows. You stop smoothing his skin as your whole body begins to grow tense at the realisation that you both still work for the First Order and no one can know that you love one another.

“What’s wrong”, he asks noticing immediately your change in thoughts, gripping your waist just a little firmer as if he were scared you were vanishing right in front of him.

“Nothing”, you reply with a forced smile. You didn’t want to ruin the moment but the more you saw concern spread across his face the more you realised you couldn’t get away with hiding it. “I just wish I could stay here forever”.

His face relaxed a little but not completely,

“Me too…” he sighs back as he pulls you into his chest by your waist. He pulls you into a hug which you return, pressing your cheek against his chest, craving the feeling of his skin on yours. You stay like this for a few moments before you hear him let out a long steady breath,

“We have to get ready for work” he whispers, the resentment evident in his own tone at having to pull yourselves away from one another to do your jobs. He gives you one last squeeze before detangling his body from yours. You watch him get out of bed and disappear into the refresher before sitting up in the bed to take in more of your surroundings, you’d been a little busy last night to explore it more fully. You hear the faint noise of the shower being turned on so take the opportunity to explore.

You get out of the bed, still naked to start looking around, nosing around might be the more accurate term. But in his temporary absence you were already craving him, you want to learn more about him, what he likes and dislikes, what he was interested in. You want to learn how he had changed and grown in the years you were separated. You walk along his shelved walls, taking in all the different books and trinkets until you reach his wardrobe. You don't know why but you feel the need to look inside.

You peek in, only to be greeted by _that coat_. You couldn’t resist. Amongst the First Order it was a symbol of power, evidence of your skill to be a high ranking member of the most powerful organisation in the whole galaxy. The majority of officers would never have the opportunity to be near one let alone try one on. You carefully remove the coat from the hanger to bring the fabric up to your face, your nose is filled with what will now and forever will be _his_ distinctive scent. A scent you would probably always crave when he wasn’t around, a scent that made you feel like you were home. Registering the sound of running water still coming from the refresher you quickly take the opportunity to try the coat on. Something told you he wouldn’t be too happy about you trying on his precious uniform, but the coat always seemed to look so damned good on him that you just had to try it on.

The coat was big on you, it felt heavy too, the fabric almost pulling your shoulders down with it. But the power you immediately felt at trying the coat on was unrivalled, it felt almost comical how a simple garment had the power to completely change the attitude of the wearer and all other officers. You move over to his mirror, situated in the corner between the walls of the room. Your reflection confirms the weight you felt at the shoulders, they were broad and slumping over your smaller frame. You trail your eyes downwards to analyse your reflection. The lapels were concealing your breasts, leaving only a slither of skin between your breasts and the beginning of their swell. You move your attention downwards, noting your exposed navel and sex as well as the ends of the coat lightly dragging against the floor from your shorter height. Your reflection only confirmed everything you were already feeling, bolstered confidence, power and authority. You feel untouchable. You start moving around to see yourself from slightly different angles.

“Suits you” comes a smooth voice from the archway between the refresher and bedroom. His voice makes you jump, you’d been so consumed by your mini power trip you hadn’t even noticed the shower being turned off. You snap your head over your shoulder, slightly apprehensive of how he was going to react. He was stood in the archway with only a black towel wrapped around his waist and a glistening layer of water droplets still dusting his chest. His image had your insides twisting and turning from pure lust and desire. You want to lick every single one of those water droplets off his chest before ripping off the towel. You subconsciously wet your lips as the daydream plays out in your mind about the man stood before you. He begins to slowly skulk over to you, you watch him the whole time, still partially thinking about licking his chest. He places his hands on your waist from behind, you return your attention to the mirror to watch him in the reflection,

“I especially like how there’s nothing underneath” he whispers deeply, directly into your ear. A shudder runs through your body, you flutter your eyes closed, humming back at his words. He removes his hands to move towards his drawers to change into a fresh uniform. Usually you’d be watching him get dressed but you take the time to look back at your reflection again, fiddling with the coat to see how it could look on you if it were a little better fitted. Only his reflection suddenly appearing behind you again captivates your attention enough to stop your posing in the mirror. Much to your disappointment he was dressed now in his uniform, no licking his chest today. He wraps his arms around you waist from behind, linking his hands over your abdomen as he presses his chest into your back and rests his chin on your shoulder.

He starts smiling at you through your reflections in the mirror, the mischievous nature about it was practically beaming back at you. He begins carefully kissing the exposed skin of your neck and under your jaw, every kiss feeling more personal than the last. A daze begins to fall over you already, you move your head to the side allowing him more space as you tip your head back over his shoulder. Still caressing your skin with his warm kisses, Hux unlinks his hands, you feel a hand begin to slowly smooth its was downwards over your abdomen and towards you core. The mischievous smile making perfect sense now.

“Armitage” you say half warningly half playfully. You didn’t have time for this really, you had to get washed and dressed for work. But you already know that you didn’t possess the willpower to stop him, and he knew it too.

“What my love?” he asks against the skin of your neck between kisses. His lips fluttering over your flesh sends tingles across the exposed flesh over your neck. His tone sounded innocent, but you know he’s anything but. His fingertips begin to slowly trace over the lips of your sex. A trail of tingling goose bumps are left in the wake of his fingers over your lips and your whole body tenses in anticipation. You try pressing your thighs together to relieve the building feeling in your core.

“We’ll be late for work” you just about manage to stammer out as the warm waves of pleasure radiating out from your core cover your mind in a thick haze.

Hux’s only response is to move his other hand down to your core. The pad of his fingertip begins to lazily circle around your clit as his other hand slowly moves down your slit and towards your entrance. You were practically aching now for something to be inside you, he was driving you mad with his slow approach but you felt sure that was his desired response. Finally he pushes two of his fingers inside, curling them inside you as he continues to circle your bundle of nerves.

“Tell me to stop then” he finally whispers in response as he pushes his fingers in, before sucking on your earlobe. _He had you there_. You knew full well you couldn’t tell him to stop now. The finger circling your clit begins to move a little quicker and more rhythmically he pumps his fingers inside you.

“Fuck” you breathe out both from frustration and pleasure. You move your hands behind you to grip the side of his thighs. Hux smirks,

“That’s what I thought” he says smugly. “You think you can stand there naked in my coat and I do nothing about it” he growls. “You think you can stand there looking so authoritative”, he grunts, “totally irresistible… and I don’t even touch you”

You clench your walls around his fingers at his compliments, moaning sweetly in the process. You were becoming lost but a small part of you was still conscious enough to worry about work,

“Won’t we get in trouble for being late?” you ask, still breathless as your panting increases.

“You’re with the General my love”, he inserts a third finger before pumping again, you immediately moan as he fills you that bit more, your walls pulse around his fingers, “the only person you can be in trouble with is me”. His words make you ache with desire while his fingers continue hitting and caressing against your sweet spot every time, quickly pushing you closer to euphoria.

“Fuck Armi” you moan, tightening your grip slightly on his thighs. You seem to spur him on,

“Not yet” he snaps back in a growl, “I want you to look at me when I make you cum”, he walks you both a little closer to the mirror. Your eyes meet his in the mirror, green fires consume his eyes. As soon as your eyes meet he starts pumping his fingers even quicker while he quickens his rhythm over your clit. You were trapped in his stare, which only adds another level of intimacy and intensity to the moment. You want to squirm against him at the pleasure he was stoking within you, but you feel paralyzed in his gaze, completely exposed. You were so close now, teetering on your edge, the walls of your pussy repeatedly pulsing around him with every pump of his fingers. You see a slight pull at the corner of his lips in the reflection, he knew you were almost there, he increased the pace of his movements even more, sending your core into overdrive. You whimper out, he didn’t have to keep it up for long before hot release tears through your body. You moan his name as every fibre of your body hummed euphorically. You dig your nails into the uniform covering his thighs, earning you a low animalistic grunt. You try keeping your eyes locked with his, but your release was too much, you flutter your eyes closed, tipping your head back against him. But he quickly grips your chin bringing your head back and forcing your eyes open and locked as you rode out the rest of your orgasm, his fingers still pumping you through your after waves. He keeps his hand firmly gripped around your chin. Having him stare into your eyes while you orgasm was strangely intimate as though he could feel everything you could and was getting just as much pleasure.

As your after waves begin to subside you tip your weight back against him, he releases your chin to wrap his arm around your waist, giving you a little more stability. He finally removes his fingers from your core, bringing them up to suck them clean from your fluids. You just about manage to stifle the small whimper as you watch his actions in the mirror, completely enthralled by him. He takes hold of your chin again to guide your face over to his, kissing you over your shoulder. His face somehow more beautiful than the reflection you had just been staring into.

Hux pulls away with a satisfied grin,

“You’d better get ready Y/N, or you’ll be sanctioned for tardiness”

“Armitage!” you exclaim playfully, “you said I wouldn’t get in trouble!”

“I didn’t say you wouldn’t be in trouble; I said the only person you _could_ be in trouble with is _me_ ”

“But you’re the reason I’m going to be late now!”

He puts his hands behind his back and subtly shakes his head,

“Not relevant” he says with a small grin. “I’ll be needing this too” he continues as he begins removing his coat from your shoulders, raking his eyes over your now exposed body in the process. Once he returns the coat to his own form he grabs you by the waist to pull you flush against him, he angles his head downwards to kiss you deeply, you let out a small whimper into his mouth, he smiles back against you. He pulls away, holding your gaze for a moment before turning to head out of the room. Just as he dissapears out of sight he shouts back,

“Get a move on L/N!” he uses his General’s voice but with an element of playfulness still evident. You laugh to yourself before quickly cleaning yourself up and re-dressing before heading into the refresher to make yourself look more presentable.

\----------

By the time you make it to the bridge your cheeks are red, and strands of your hair had become lose from where they were held in a ponytail. You’d half powerwalked half ran the whole way there. Everyone was already at their workstations; you notice Kors sat at the navigations station fiddling around with something. Hux was stood in his usual position as you advance in,

“Lieutenant L/N” he practically yells, several decibels above the bustle of the bridge, a few officers risk looking up to see what the commotion was about but knew better than to be caught by the General listening in and not working. You swallow as you put your hands behind your back, straightening your posture and lifting your head slightly to meet his eyes. “You’re late”, he states in a quieter but no less authoritative tone, “I do hope there is a reasonable explanation for your tardiness”.

He was playing with you, hoping to make you squirm in front of your colleagues on the bridge. You decide to play him at his own game.

“I’m afraid I was indisposed General Hux” you state plainly.

“Indisposed?” he asks curiously with a raised eyebrow. You could practically see the thrill running through him at you giving it back to him. He moves to retrieve his datapad to focus his attention on while the interaction continues. You suspect he had to partially distract himself somehow and prevent himself from taking you right there and then in front of everyone.

“Well, a superior officer seemed intent on making me cum all around his fingers this morning and I didn’t think it appropriate to deny the wishes of a superior officer”, a pause “Sir”. Hux keeps his eyes firmly fixed on the datapad, but you see him swallow and his slow nods become ever so slightly frantic the more he listened. He pauses a moment to recompose himself before responding,

“Well… your lateness is still an insubordination worthy of punishment Lieutenant. Report to my office at the end of your shift”

“Yes Sir”. You move to walk away but quickly turn to face him again, “Sir?”

“Yes?”

“Might I ask what sort of punishment I will receive?” You see him desperately try to hide the shiver that ran through his body from your words before he lifts his head up from his datapad to meet you,

“I’ll have to think on that Lieutenant”, he takes a step closer and leans in ever so slightly to speak quieter, “I should think it would involve having you bent over my desk though”.

This time it was you trying to hide your arousal, you press your thighs together to get some friction on the sparks of your now aching sex and press your lips together to conceal a small whimper threatening to escape. Hux analyses your reaction the whole time, enjoying it, as if he knew exactly what you were feeling and hiding from everyone around you both. You give him a firm nod before turning towards your workstation. It was probably best to end the interaction before you turned one another on anymore, your shifts would drag even slower if you were waiting to be _relieved_.

“Officer Kors” you state in acknowledgement as you sit at your workstation. You begin tapping the screen of your monitor to check the Finalizer was still on the right course and there had been no changes to the designated route. Once happy the Finalizer was still firmly on course you turn to Kors,

“Okay we’re still on track, do you know how to scan for potential threats along a flight plan?”

“I’m familiar with the theory but not how to do it with the equipment here”

“Okay…” you trail off as you begin tapping the monitor to bring up the Finalizer’s navigation tracking system. “So all you do is-”

“L/N?”

You turn your head over your shoulder to see Mitaka,

“Yes?” you ask somewhat impatiently at being interrupted.

“What happened to you? I was waiting for you at breakfast, but you don’t show, I tried knocking on your door but there was no answer and now you’re getting a dressing down by the General in front of the whole bridge. What’s going on with you?” Mitaka had become increasingly red in the face and breathless the more he had rattled on. He now had a look of bewilderment as if he surprised himself by his outburst. You start to feel a slight blush cover your own face, mainly from second hand embarrassment at his public unprofessionalism but also from the way he was speaking to you. You didn’t appreciate the man who was supposed to be a friend talking to you like some subordinate officer or how he thought he had a right to know where you were at any given time. Though you had to admit that if it weren’t for you and Hux you probably wouldn’t mind Mitaka acting so concerned about you, it was only because you had something to hide now. But still, it didn’t give him the tight to speak to you in that way in front of Kors or anyone else who may be listening in on the bridge. The more you think on it the more frustrated you become,

“I don’t really have time for this right now Mitaka” you snap back angrily. You move your eyes to the side in gesture to remind him Kors was sat behind you listening in to the conversation. You meet his eyes again, but he wasn’t moving, apparently he absolutely needed an answer now and in all honestly you didn’t want to have to find time for him later to explain.

“I’d just got back from a long trip and was tired” you begin in a levelled tone, “so I accidently slept in, General Hux was well within his rights to sanction me”, your tone now portrayed the growing frustration and impatience you were feeling towards him, “that’s all there is to it Mitaka” you finish with one last louder than usual snap, the bridge of course going slightly quiet just when you became louder. You notice a few heads turn to inspect what the fraught conversation was about. Mitaka was visibly taken aback with the way you had spoken to him and probably slightly embarrassed since there was now a handful of officers watching you both. You hold his gaze for a moment longer but quickly grew inpatient at his lack of retort, so you swivel back to face your screen with an exaggerated sigh. He lingers there for a couple of moments before you hear him marching away again. You glance back over your shoulder, Hux was watching him the whole way back to his workstation, a look of disdain covering his features. You had no doubt he had been watching and listening to the whole interaction, even if it appeared as though he wasn’t, analysing and trying to decipher Mitaka's intentions.

You turn back to Kors, you could tell by the expression on her face that she desperately wanted to ask what that whole situation was about but she obviously thought better of it as she remained silent. You carry on from where you were interrupted, explaining how to use the navigations equipment to scan for new risks, threats or blockages through the flight plan to ensure no complications. She picked it up pretty quickly thankfully, Sol wasn’t wrong when he recommended her for the position.

\----------

The day progressed relatively quickly, you’d spent the first half of your shift mainly introducing Kors to her role and responsibilities. There’d been no further interactions with Mitaka either, _thankfully_. You’d lost track of Hux throughout the day which didn’t surprise you, he was a very busy man, he was always wanted by someone for something. It was a wonder how the First Order ever progressed without him. Just as you allow yourself to daydream about the powerful General you receive a message on your datapad from none other.

_Lieutenant L/N,_

_Report to the Supreme Council meeting room immediately._

_General Hux_

In the First Order ‘immediately’ _means_ immediately. You have no idea what he wants but you know you need to get there quick. You throw some work at Kors before running out of the bridge and up towards the conference room. You navigate corridors and lifts, weaving your way through all the officers and droids, barging into a few as you go. When you finally reach the door to the conference room you pause for a moment trying to catch your breath. You didn’t want to enter a room full of the highest ranking officers of the First Order looking weak or unfit. You straighten out your uniform before knocking on the door and entering.

You enter the darkened room, only low level lighting around the walls and light from various control panels along the conference table and room illuminated the scene. The long black conference table was filled, every seat occupied by the various members making up the Supreme Council. You recognise many of them by name only, you’d only actually met or worked with a handful of them. You take a couple more steps inside, your eyes dancing along the table, looking for who you should address or who would address you. The eyes of every single person slowly turn on you, the room falling into silence, your heart starts to race from the attention, but you keep your face strong and expressionless. You feel a pull at your mind, which you quickly react to by reinforcing your already blocked mind. So Ren was definitely here, though you hadn’t noticed him in your nervousness. You stand a little straighter before advancing in even more, every set of eyes tracked you as you did. You start to feel like prey that had walked directly into the lair of a predator. Telling yourself to calm down, you scan over the conference table a little more methodically, allowing yourself to actually register the members there. You notice the shiny chrome of Phasma’s armour and next to her was _him_ , seeing him immediately calmed you a little, as if just knowing he was in the same room gave you more oxygen.

“Lieutenant L/N” Ren addresses you from where he sits at the head of the conference table. You angle your body to face him, he was without his mask again now. You try your best to look back defiantly and confidently to prove yourself to him and everyone else around the conference table.

“Yes Commander Ren”, you quickly reply.

“We’ve received intelligence that the resistance has started an evacuation from D’Qar”

You nod your head calmly in response, it wasn’t exactly a surprise to you. You momentarily flicker your eyes in their sockets to look at Hux. The two of you had already discussed this possibility and how his now working active hyperspace tracking could solve the problem entirely. Though it was becoming increasingly apparent that no one on the council knew of that technology yet and you trusted Hux had a reason for that.

“Supreme Leader Snoke has requested we get to D’Qar quicker” Ren adds.

“Can you find a quicker route?” Phasma chips in. You admired Phasma in a way, she always seemed to cut to the chase and get the job done with as little fuss as possible. Though a part of you was nervous she would find out about you and Hux since finding out she played a part in sending you away. You turn to address her,

“I can’t immediately think of one, I’ll have to consult the older maps of different systems to see if there is a cut through” you rattle off quickly.

“L/N is highly adept, she’ll find us a solution” Hux interjects with a professional tone, not a single element of emotion evident in his words, even though you knew they were there.

“You have changed your tune since the last time she was in here with us General” Ren taunts, his words slow and drawn out as he angles his body over the table towards Hux. You see Hux grimace at the lack of professionalism Ren so often displays in times of seriousness like this.

“I have since had a chance to work with the Lieutenant and she has shown herself to be very competent”, Hux looks up and down the conference table to meet the intense stares of the other council members, as if he were trying to convince them all of your abilities. Phasma shuffles in her seat slightly, seemingly frustrated with the current exchange when time was running out.

“Go Lieutenant, return to us as soon as you have found another route” Phasma finally cuts in.

You respond only with a nod before turning and leaving the room, as soon as the door closes you start running down the corridor to the old archives. As you run you start typing out a message to Kors to have her meet you there, you’d need all the help you could get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in updating, please take two for one in compensation! Hope you enjoy!x


	11. One More Night

You meet Kors at the old archive rooms, which were not so conveniently situated at the very back of the ship. The large room was dark and dusty, the exact opposite to the sleek shiny surfaces Hux liked everywhere else on the ship. There were rows and rows of floor to ceiling bookcases filled with old maps and books of the different planetary and star systems. You rush up and down the different rows until you find the section you need; you start grabbing armfuls of books to shove onto Kors.

“Take those to the tables over there” you tell her before grabbing the rest of them.

“Right we’re looking for _any way_ we can get to D’Qar quicker than the route I have already planned”

“When you say, ‘any way’?” Kors asks somewhat timidly, your frantic energy must have been giving the impression that you could be ready to blow at one small misstep, which wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Anything… a system which may somehow be more direct, fewer blockages to navigate around, less drag on the ship from gravitation pull” you reel off as you start unrolling some old maps onto the table.

“Okay” Kors replies with a hurried nod of her head and wide eyes as she comprehended the task ahead.

The two of you must have been there for about two hours, flicking through countless pages of different books and closely analysing tens of old maps to little avail. Every suggestion either one of you made was quickly shot down when the other found some kind of flaw. The more potential solutions were shot down the more a feeling of panic and dread started to eat away at the back of your mind, you start thinking about letting Hux down, embarrassing yourself, not demonstrating your true skillset, the First Order failing. Then again, failing would mean more time with Hux before you were both thrown into a potential battle. You try your best to keep the intrusive thoughts at the back of your mind so you could concentrate on the task at hand. You’d been staring at one map in particular for a while now when something clicks,

“I think I might have something”, you say as you stand over the book and corresponding map, “we can side step into this system”, you point to the map. Kors looks, pressing her eyebrows down,

“But won’t changing system add time?”

“At first, yes. But this system has a star that has been collapsing in on itself for centuries, it probably has the strongest gravitational pull in the whole galaxy. We piggyback that pull as far as we can to the edge of the system and then side step back into the hyperspace lane we would have originally used”, you pause a minute thinking through the plan as you study the map a little more. “Plus”, you practically shout with enthusiasm, “we’d be avoiding the three system changes we would have made on the original route which will save us even more time”. Kors stares down at the map for a moment as she processes your plan,

“How much time could it save?” she asks.

“I need to do the calculations”, you say hurriedly, quickly sitting down to grab your datapad and start typing the numbers into the relevant equations. You and Kors both stay in complete silence as you type the numbers in, you needed this to work, after a few moments that felt like hours the numbers come back,

“So originally we would have been arriving in approximately two days now… but with the side step and piggybacking the gravitational pull we could arrive there as soon as tomorrow, around mid-morning D’Qar time”, you look up to Kors.

“We won’t find another way that’s much quicker” she replies calmly.

“We need to get back to the bridge and run a simulation to confirm” you quickly say as you stand grabbing your datapad and map. Kors hastily matches your pace.

You and Kors run side by side down the endless corridors of the Finalizer, the ride in the lift being your only chance to catch your breath. When you arrive back on the bridge everyone looked slightly more stressed than usual, word must have spread the resistance was planning an escape from the planet. You rapidly type all the numbers into the navigations system to run a simulation. You both watch the monitor with bated breaths as the equipment processed the simulation, the flashing green informs you both that the flight plan would work and confirms your previous estimated arrival as tomorrow mid-morning D’Qar time. You both let out a relieved sigh, taking a short moment to process everything before you have to go again.

“Okay start entering the adjusted flight plan so it’s ready to go, I’ll send you a message to change course if the Supreme Council approves it”

“Yes Lieutenant” Kors replies as you pick up your datapad again to begin running up to the conference room.

The conference room door was now at the end of the corridor you were running down, when you finally reach it you don’t pause to recompose yourself this time, instead you lay a somewhat frantic knock on the door before hastily entering. The table of eyes turns to consider you once again, but it didn’t bother you so much this time despite being visibly breathless and red in the face from all of the running,

“Lieutenant” Phasma addressed you, you turn to look at her, you raise the datapad in your hand,

“I have an adjusted flight plan Captain”, you gesture to the holoprojector in the middle of the conference table, “may I?”

Phasma stands from her seat, indicating permission for you to link your datapad with the holoprojector. You start making your way around the long conference table to the other side. The table was a lot messier than the last time you had been in there. Battle plans, maps, weapon quotas and stormtrooper formations now littered the length of the table. All the members looked a little more tired and stressed, no doubt from the countless debates on the best course of action.

You sit, linking your datapad to the projector. The star and planetary systems appear over the conference table in an electric blue light as you start explaining how your plan could save the First Order time.

“Lightspeed is the fastest mode of transport Lieutenant, how could the simple gravitational pull of a collapsing star exceed that?” asks an older officer from across the table. He didn’t hide his sense of superiority or contempt, he wanted you to feel inferior. His tone didn’t bother you though; you knew you were the most informed navigations officer on the Finalizer, it was likely he knew very little of the countless systems of the galaxy. You hold his gaze through the projection,

“Firstly, this star has been collapsing for centuries which intensifies the gravitational pull. So while lightspeed _is_ the fastest mode of transport”, you gesture to projected image of the collapsing star, “this star inhibits the natural drag usually present in systems while streamlining our speed”. A beat, “secondly, the original route would have us enter and exit three systems which always adds some delay as the ship makes the transition whereas this system”, you gesture to the projection again, “spans the length of those three systems meaning we cut out those delays altogether”

“So when do we get there?” asks the same old officer with a flurry of his hand as if he were inpatient with your explanation. His tone clearly conveyed his annoyance at you being able to robustly answer his query.

“Tomorrow, mid-morning D’Qar time… so approximately 18 hours”. All the officers sat around the table suddenly stopped looking at you to exchange hushed exchanges with one another. In the moment of distraction amongst the officers you feel Hux move his foot directly next to your own, your boots now connected, a simple act of reassurance to remind you he was there.

“Thank you Lieutenant” you hear Phasma exclaim over your shoulder, you take her comment as a signal to remove yourself from her seat. You take your datapad but leave the projection up before you stand.

“How quickly can we change course?” Ren asks from the head of the table.

“I have Officer Kors ready to switch us now Sir” you say as you lift your datapad in the air a little.

“Good” Hux interjects curtly, “have her do it and you may return to your station”

“Yes Sir” you reply before immediately sending a message to Kors as you make your way round the table again to exit the conference room.

You start making you way down the corridor, your pace far slower now. You felt a sense of both exhaustion and calm, you’d done everything you could to help them. As you walk you get a message come through on your datapad, it had been sent to all relevant officers informing every one of the changes in arrival time and new timescales in terms of attack preparations. You’re still glancing over the message as you’re about to enter the lift,

“L/N” shouts a male voice. You turn to see Hux striding down the corridor towards you, his coat flurrying behind him, you keep your composure completely professional just in case any one of the council members suddenly decides to also make an appearance. He was now within a pace of you,

“Will you send all the information you have on the new route to the other ships you contacted before, try and get as many vessels there as we can”

“Of course General” you reply as you turn your head downwards to start immediately drafting a message. You don’t get very far when Hux places two of his leather clad fingers under your chin to lift your eyes back to him again. His expression was tense, as it always tended to be at work, but his eyes showed something else. You can see the admiration he had for you, how proud of you he was.

“Good work today”, he says softly as he smooths his fingers slowly down your cheek, “everyone is very pleased”

You let a smile finally crack through your lips. Hux quickly looks over your shoulder and then behind his own before promptly holding your face in his hands and guiding you up to his lips. You close your eyes, his kiss was soft and caressing, for a fleeting moment he consumes your senses allowing you to forget where you are. But all too quickly it’s over and he’s pulling away from you again, returning his hands to behind his back. He pauses a moment,

“But it doesn’t make up for your tardiness earlier… so I still expect to see you in my office later”

“Of course Sir” you smile back, there was a momentary flicker of his lips turning upwards into a smile before he quickly conceals his emotions again. You press the button for the lift again as he turns to walk back to the conference room.

\----------

You return to the bridge feeling a warm sense of satisfaction. You’d done your job well, achieved what was asked for you and impressed the higher-ups. You’d impressed Hux too, made him proud of you. Everything would be perfect if you weren’t heading directly into an attack. Officers were now running around the bridge to get things ready for the attack, the countdown was well and truly on.

“Thank you for helping me Kors, you did good” you breathe out as you take your seat.

“Thank you Lieutenant” she replies, a little surprised from your compliment. “So what happens now?”

“Stormtroopers will be briefed on attacks, ready for if they need to be sent to the planet’s surface. All the transports will be checked overnight by the engineers to make sure they’re all working well. Checks will be carried out on the Finalizer’s ventral canons and other weapons. Basically every possible plan and outcome will be prepared for. But all we need to do now is get a good night’s sleep, we’ll be on the bridge all day tomorrow, from 0600 until whenever it’s over”

Kors nods her head slowly as she processed everything you just said,

“So what will be our main tasks tomorrow?”

“To make sure we exit hyperspace well, we’ll have to try and infiltrate the resistance’s navigation systems to gather any intel on where they may be going but other than that just make sure the Finalizer is ready to go at any given point, be that in pursuit of the resistance or retreat. We’re responsible for quickly finding a new flight plan and getting the Finalizer out of there at a seconds notice”

“Right” Kors draws out as she takes in all the possibilities tomorrow holds. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t a little apprehensive too, though likely not for the same reasons as Kors. You weren’t worried about having to do your job, having to adapt in the moment and track down the resistance. Instead, you were worried about the General. Anyone who didn’t know would have laughed at such a notion. _Why would you be worried about a General of the First Order?_ The man was ruthless, cold-blooded, unrelenting, feared around the galaxy for his innovations and cutthroat methods. But you were in love with him and the thought of somehow losing him tomorrow crushes your very being into dust. Understanding something of what Kors was feeling you decide to be lenient,

“Finish the final checks and then you can finish for the day, get some rest before tomorrow”

The two of you work side by side in silence for another hour before Kors finishes the checks and leaves the bridge. You continue monitoring the progress of the Finalizer along the new adjusted route, wanting to make sure nothing was to suddenly go awry. There wasn’t much more you could do now until you were ready to bring the Finalizer out of hyperspace. As you watch the progress on your monitor your mind begins to wonder again. Although you know the First Order had far superior weapons in terms of numbers and technology you couldn’t shake the niggling feeling of worry. The resistance was weakened but you couldn’t rule them out completely. Although you work for them, you couldn’t deny that the First Order had in the past allowed their arrogance and hubris to lead them straight into defeat. Then again Ren would have to take a large portion of the blame for _certain_ failures. You mindlessly drift your eyes over the monitor when you notice the time, your shift had finished an hour ago, you were supposed to be visiting Hux in his office. The thought of seeing him made you feel warm while also making your heart pound in anticipation of how he might want to _punish_ you for your earlier tardiness. With a new burst of energy you start making your way off of the bridge, as you walk between the two pits you register Mitaka trying to catch your attention as he speaks to another officer. You opt to keep your eyes fixed on the exit, ignoring him completely to pretend you don’t see him. As you continue walking you remember that you had agreed to a catch up yesterday for tonight, but you really weren’t in the mood. You still feel a slight pang of frustration and annoyance with your interaction earlier in the day. Plus, why would you waste precious time before the attack with Mitaka when you could be in Hux’s arms?

You reach the bank of lifts, pressing the button to call one when the doors immediately open. You step inside and press the level for Hux’s office, just as the doors begin to close you hear Mitaka shout your name down the corridor. You take a step backwards, putting yourself further in the lift, as if it would prevent him from getting to you. Thankfully the doors close just as your hear his heavy footsteps reach the lift and before you know it the lift is taking you upwards.

\----------

“Enter” you hear a muffled voice exclaim through the walls after knocking on his office door.

You walk in to find him intensely fixated on the monitor sitting on his desk, he looks stressed. His hair was slightly ruffled, not untidy but untidy for him. He used to have a habit of running his fingers through his hair when he was stressed in the Academy, apparently he still had the same tendency. You advance in more to stand in front of his desk, but he doesn’t acknowledge you, his eyes still firmly fixed on his monitor. You wonder whether he has even registered that he had told you to come in or if he was just operating on autopilot. You try clearing your throat, but still nothing. You make your way around the desk, so you’re stood behind his chair but there’s still no reaction from him.

In one movement you place your hands on his shoulders, before moving them down his chest as you bend down to press the side of your cheek into his,

“Armi” you hum sweetly. He takes a sharp intake of air from your contact with him, as if you had broken him out of a trance. He rests a hand over one of yours as he moves his face slightly to press his cheek into yours more,

“Sorry Y/N, today”, he lets out a long breath, “has been very busy. Apparently half of the Supreme Council and the officers on this ship are incompetent at their jobs”, he pause to let out another breath, “I just need to finalise these plans for tomorrow”.

“It’s okay, I understand” you reply before kissing his cheek and returning to your full height. Hux straightens himself in his chair before refocussing his attentions on the monitor. You lean against the edge of his desk, looking out of the window for a moment before checking the messages on your datapad. You stop monitoring the time when you start reading the replies from the other imperial vessels you had sent the new flight plans to, informing you of their own arrival times.

Your concentration is abruptly pulled when Hux clears his throat, you look down to see him staring up at you. After a moment he pushes his chair out from under the desk, swivelling slightly to angle his body in your direction. Without a word he pats his leg for you to join him. His gesture makes your insides twist in lust again. You smile, putting your datapad on the desk before sitting on his lap, you link your hands together behind his neck. Hux wraps an arm around your back to rest his hand on your waist while his other hand traces small patterns into your upper thigh.

You want to ask him about the preparations for tomorrow. But the prospect of going into a battle was becoming increasingly real to you. The risk to life which never bothered you before had begun playing on your mind a lot more. Well, the risk to one person’s life. You decide to bite the bullet,

“Is everything ready for tomorrow?”

“Yes we’re ready to finish them for good”, you smile at the determination he showed so ardently in destroying the resistance. Not an atom of doubt or worry evident in his demeanour. “We wouldn’t have been able to do it without you” he continues as he squeezes your thigh a little.

“I guess you’re just lucky to have the best navigator in the First Order on _your_ ship” you joke. He smiles back at you,

“I am”, he pulls you a little closer, “most definitely”, closer again, “lucky” with his final word he smothers your neck in kisses, tickling the sensitive skin. You laugh with him, squeaking his name as you squirm against his tickling, but he holds you firmly against himself. “I want you”, he kisses your jaw, “in my quarters”, he kisses the other side of your jaw, “tonight”.

“Is that a request or an order General?” you ask with a sly smile. Hux mirrors your smile as he moves his face close to your again,

“Most definitely an order” he says in a low husky voice before crashing his lips into yours at the finish of his last word. You smile against his lips before laughing into him, Hux soon follows. You both pull away to catch your breath, the laughter in the room slowly subsiding. You reposition yourself slightly on his lap, putting pressure on his member as you do so, Hux lets out a low grunt as you did so.

“I’m sorry Y/N, I can’t tonight…”

“It’s okay” you cut him off as you run your fingers through his hair to make it more coiffed, as he liked. “It’s been a long day”

“I haven’t forgotten about reprimanding you for being late though” he quickly retorts as if he was trying to prove something.

“Good” you hum back, imagining him bending you over the very desk in front of you, “I’ll be holding you to it” you smile deviously back. Hux smiles back at you but there was something deeper in his eyes, something more emotional. He pulls you in a little closer to him,

“I just need you next to me tonight”.

His admission takes you off guard a little, his softer edge massively contradicted the confidence he’d not long shown about finishing the resistance. Maybe he was having the same concerns as you about going into this attack tomorrow. You nod back slowly; you didn’t need words to tell him all you ever wanted was to be next to him. One last night together before everything could suddenly come to an end tomorrow. You kiss his cheek before resting your head against his shoulder.

You both stay like this for a while in one another’s arms, not a word spoken, just enjoying being in the presence of one another, but both all too aware that there was a countdown underway. After a while Hux’s hand starts smoothing up and down your thigh,

“Come on, let’s go to bed”

You nod back with a small smile before removing yourself from his lap. Something had changed between you, the light hearted playfulness from earlier was gone now as something more sobering now plagued you both.

\----------

You walk the corridors side by side, both with a datapad in hand. You tell him about the messages you had received from the other vessels that would exit hyperspace with the Finalizer at D’Qar. To anyone passing you were working, which you were, but you were mainly thinking about how good it felt to be able to walk side by side with him in public. Once in the lift you were able to be a little closer again, both with a datapad still in hand, you extend your hand out to find his, the warm leather encompassing your skin. When the doors begin to slide open you quickly drop one another’s hand and shuffle away to put a more appropriate amount of distance between you both again, portraying the bitter relationship you so often showed one another around the Finalizer.

Finally on his level walking towards his quarters you hold back from him by a couple of paces, it would be suspicious enough you being here at the same time as him let alone walking him to his door or worse going in. Hux enters his quarters leaving the door open for you after him, once you’re level with the door you do one last check up and down the corridor before quickly scurrying in. You quickly close the door behind you and continue into his living area but Hux had already made his way through to the bedroom. When you see him he was stood with his back to you, removing his uniform to change into a simple pair of black joggers and nothing on the top. The way he was carefully and meticulously hanging up his uniform brought a smile to your face; it was just so him.

“I cleared some space for you in the drawer”, he gestured with a hand, his back still to you, “There’s also some spare sets of uniform, underwear and nightwear”

You quickly pull open the drawer to see several sets of black underwear and black satin nightdresses neatly folded and organised. You start to wonder how the General managed to get female underwear and nightwear sent to his quarters without raising any suspicions.

“How did you...” you trail off chuckling.

“I have my ways” he replies somewhat ominously.

You rush over to the wardrobe you had opened this morning to find female officer jackets hung neatly next to his own. The image brought a smile to your face, it felt silly, something so simple as sharing a wardrobe with him making you so happy.

“I’m afraid the coat is still mine though” he interrupts your thoughts as he sidles up next to you. You huff playfully before turning to retrieve one of your new satin nightdresses. The quality was far superior to the nightwear you had back in your own quarters, probably more attractive too. You make your way back round the bed, you set yourself on top of the covers, sitting against the headboard. Hux was stood in front of you, partly leaning against the wall as he stared out of the window. He looked lost in thought, maybe about the plans for tomorrow or the active hyperspace tracking. But the longer he stood there the more you start to worry about him.

“Armitage?”, you finally ask, you see his chest puff out as he lets out a long breath. You’d broken through some trail of thought.

Without a word or any acknowledgement he starts walking towards you, stopping at the foot of the bed. He stays there for a moment, looming over you, his face still looked tense and his eyes sad. Finally he bends down and starts crawling over you on the bed, setting himself down on top of you, he rests the side of his cheek on your abdomen and brings his hands up to either side of your ribcage. You begin questioning his behaviour in your mind as you start running your fingers through his soft hair, messing it up slightly in the process.

“What’s wrong?” you ask somewhat tentatively.

You feel him let out a little sigh again, his warm breath rolling over the satin nightdress.

“All these years I’ve felt absolutely nothing before going into attack… only a small rush from being able to prove my military strategies… but nothing of substance… not even about the risk to my own life... and certainly nothing about anyone else”, he pauses, “but now… all I can think about is how I could lose you”, he progressively presses his hands into your ribcage more and more as he goes on, as if he were about to lose you right now. He had been having the same thoughts as you, you don’t immediately reply. There’s not much you can say to comfort him, the truth is you were going into an attack whether you liked it or not. “I just thought we’d have a little more time before” he continues.

“Shhhh” you cut him off, a part of you didn’t want him to speak the words, as if it somehow made it more real than it already was. Another silent pause falls between you both, neither one of you could exactly comfort the other because you were both all too aware of the potential risks.

“I guess this is why the First Order prohibits personal relationships” you joke half-heartedly still running your fingers through his hair. You feel him huff against you. At least you’d got him to feel something other than concern or worry for a brief moment.

“Maybe” he whispers.

Something about the pitiful moment turns a switch in your head. He is a General and you are a highly competent Lieutenant, were you seriously going to lie here feeling sorry for yourselves? You don’t want this time with him to be so self-pitying, you could get through this, you _will_ get through this. The more you start rallying yourself the quicker you start breathing, Hux seemingly noticing as he lifts his cheek off your abdomen to look at you. You quickly meet his gaze,

“Armitage this day was always going to come, it was always inevitable in the First Order. But remember we have one another’s back”, you let a small smile peek through, “While everyone else here has no allegiances but to themselves, we have one another… you protect me, and I protect you”

A sad smile begins to grace his features, his face told you that he loved your sense of determination but couldn’t quite shake the doubt. You hold his gaze, letting your sincerity and unwavering determination flow into him, the longer he looks into your eyes the more you can see him start to understand how genuine you were. His smile fades, his face now portraying the determination he displayed on the bridge,

“You’re right Y/N… we’ll always have one another”. A pause. “The First Order may well prohibit relationships because they make us unfocussed…”, his voice was now practically oozing determination, “but one thing I can absolutely guarantee is that if any of those rebel scum touch a hair on your head I will tear apart whole planets, systems… galaxies!”

As soon as he said the words you knew you would do the exact same for him. You move a hand down from his hair to his cheek,

“Me too” you whisper, your tone not as formidable but no less sincere. You feel a film of tears covering your eyes. You didn’t realise how strongly you felt about keeping him safe until you spoke the words. Something about his features softened, as if he finally heard what he had been wanting to ease his new found concerns. He takes your hand into his to kiss it before lifting himself up over you, he starts kissing the exposed skin where the nightdress forms a V between your breasts, slowly making his way up until he reaches your face. He hovers over you for a moment, bringing his face down so your noses are almost touching,

“I will always love you Y/N”

“I’ll always love you too”

Hux finally closes the gap that still remained between your faces, kissing you tenderly before pulling away to nuzzle his face between your shoulder and neck. You feel him take in a large breath through his nose to smell you and then smile against you, you mimic his smile from the tickling sensation he was applying on your sensitive flesh.

Hux rolls off of you to lie on his side next to you, he reaches his arms over and around you to bring your chest flush against his own before lifting a leg to wrap your legs in his. You feel butterflies in your stomach as your heart begins to flutter around your chest too. You both nuzzle against one another before closing your eyes, trying to get some rest before the long day that lay ahead tomorrow.

\----------

Hux must have set an alarm because there was some ungodly noise penetrating your ears, ripping you from your peaceful sleep. Hux hadn’t bore the wrath of your morning moods yet so he was definitely in for a treat. The sound was stopped after a stirring next to you, you were still half asleep when you planted your face in the pillow, not wanting to leave the warmth of the bed quite yet.

“Here” you hear Hux say to the side of you, pushing you that last little bit into complete consciousness. You slowly turn your head against the pillow to be greeted with a steaming mug of coffee, the satisfying smell wafting over to you. You hum back to him as a smile starts to creep across your face. You sit up to accept the coffee from him,

“Thank you” you say still smiling.

“Well, I remember the less than sunny disposition you used to show me before coffee in the morning, thought I’d spare myself the attitude” he says sarcastically. You shoot him an equally sarcastic grin back before bringing the mug up to take your first sip. He watches you take a sip before starting to get ready for work. Only a couple of sips more and you were finished, you join him the refresher to get ready. You both stand in front of the mirror, Hux was applying some kind of gel to comb his hair into the usual coiffed style while you run a brush through your hair to pull it into a ponytail. You glimpse between his reflection and the reflection of your hair, smiling whenever you caught his eye. You knew he was doing the same too.

Now dressed and ready for work you both begin to slowly make your way towards the door. You both take small steps down the corridor towards his door, prolonging the time you had with one another in the safety of Hux’s quarters. You finally stop when you reach the door.

Hux grips the tops of your arms with a firm grasp,

“I will see you later” he says, words beaming with determination, he was making a promise to you that you knew he would do everything he could to keep. You nod back, almost trapped by his determined eyes. He continues to bore into you with his intense eyes a moment longer, his features and demeanour were tense but the more he looked at you the more they begin to falter. He groans before moving his hands down to take your hands into his and pull you into a kiss. He deepens his movements immediately, massaging your tongue with his and rapidly disabling you entirely in the process. He pushes you backwards into the wall behind, letting out small sweet moans into your mouth the whole time, the sound makes your heart flutter. His franticness at first begins to morph into something else, he begins kissing you slowly, each movement purposeful and intimate. The longer the kiss continues you begin to understand he didn’t want to let you go. The man feared by so many for his heartless actions was afraid of losing the women he loved to a simple attack on a weakened resistance with weapons of far greater quality and quantity. You squeeze his hands a little tighter in your own. A light vibration starts radiating out from his chest, alerting you both to an incoming message on his datapad, pulling you both from the moment and back to reality. Hux pulls back slightly but his face was still only an inch or so away from yours, he flickers his eyes up to yours, you knew what he was saying to you, he didn’t need to use the words. _You loved one another and you would protect one another_.

“See you later” you say, trying to match the same level of determination he had shown not long before. He looks back at you for a moment longer before kissing your forehead. He then retrieves his datapad and leaves his quarters. You let out a deep breath you didn’t know you had been holding as you tip your weight back against the wall. You already missed him. The niggling feeling at the back of your mind wanted to run over the worst case scenario over and over again. But as much as you didn’t always believe in the arrogance of the First Order thinking they couldn’t lose, but you believed in _him_. You knew he would do whatever it takes to keep you safe. You hold onto that belief, using it to fuel for the rest of today. He needs you to be at your best today, you couldn’t let fear impact your performance when he would be relying on you more than ever.

You stand up from the wall, a new sense of determination now flooding through your body. For the first time in your life you weren’t doing something for the good of the First Order but rather the man you were in love with and he fuelled you more than the First Order ever could. You let out one last long breath before swiftly exiting his quarters and towards the bridge.


	12. D'Qar

You arrive to join the bustle of the bridge, there was a different energy today. A combination of nerves and excitement, just one last opposition before the First Order could rule over the galaxy. Most of you had spent your whole lives working towards this moment, a part of you questioned what the First Order would even do after it was achieved. What exactly was the next goal after complete domination of the galaxy?

You head across the bridge, as you skirt around the space you catch the eye of Hux, stood in between the pits with an individual who looked like Captain Peavey. As your eyes meet you give him a discrete nod, reinforcing your earlier agreement to protect one another, your nod was promptly returned. At your workstation you double check everything was still okay with the Finalizer in the hyperspace lane. As you scrutinize the screen in front a male voice addresses you from behind,

“Lieutenant L/N”

You quickly spin and stand to attention to greet Captain Peavey,

“Captain Peavey, Sir!”

“Do you have an ETA?” he asks, his tone doing little to hide the superiority he clearly felt over you. His distaste for you was mutual though, although you didn’t have the pleasure of letting him know that. Peavey was a veteran of the Galactic Empire, so thought himself better than a lot of the First Order’s younger personnel, including Hux. You hadn’t seen him around so much since Hux returned to the Finalizer, his usual commanding position in Hux’s absence had become somewhat obsolete recently. So he was no doubt making up for his disappearance by aggravating as many officers on the bridge as possible.

“Thirty minutes Sir” you promptly reply. Peavey holds your eye for a second before turning and walking away without a word. _Dick_.

“Gods, who was that?” Kors asks from your side.

“Peavy”, your tone now displaying the pure contempt you felt for the man, “he used to be an Imperial officer, but his methods and ideas are pretty much useless now with all the new technologies, but he’ll still talk to you as though he thinks he’s the Supreme Leader himself”. Kors gives you an understanding nod, it was common knowledge throughout the First Order that old Imperial officers were notoriously difficult and hard work. “Right, lets analyse this hyperspace lane” you break the pause, re-focussing both of your attentions to work.

Time quickly slips away this morning, it was now only five minutes before you needed to exit hyperspace. You and Kors use the remaining few minutes to confirm the coordinated arrival with the other three or four resurgent class vessels. Once you received confirmation it was time.

You turn to the centre of the bridge where Hux and Peavey were in tense discussion,

“Sir, we’ve entered the final 60 second countdown to D’Qar” you shout over. Hux gives you a nod before quickly finishing his conversation with Peavey. The two men then stride towards the front of the bridge, situating themselves just to the right of your workstation for an unobstructed view of what was coming. Kors begins shouting the countdown into the bridge, alerting everyone to get to their battle stations. You feel your heart beat a fraction quicker with each declining number. Thinking logically, you knew the resistance were on their knees but you couldn't shake the notion that there was always an outside chance they could have pulled together for one last attack. You desperately want to reach to your side to find Hux’s hand, feel him against you, feel safe in his grasp. For all you knew you may not have any more chances to touch him again, which only makes the desire harder to fight off. There was always a _chance_ that this attack could see the demise of one or both of you but anyone finding out about you would _guarantee_ the same result. You swallow something rising up your throat, having to remind yourself that he would protect you and you him, just the mere thought slows your quickening heart rate somewhat allowing you to re-focus on work.

It was less than ten seconds now, you crouch down to your screen, scrutinising all of the analytics and making sure the Finalizer was still sound. You were now laser focussed on the information, Kors’ voice started to fade away from your central consciousness, becoming increasingly muffled. The Finalizer suddenly lurches forward, the white stripes of speeding stars were now replaced by stillness. Below was the planet of D’Qar and in the distance a large ship with a line of smaller vessels trailing up to it. The bridge falls into an eerie silence for a moment as everyone leans over their workstations to get a good view of the scene below. During this moment of silence the other imperial vessels also arrive at the scene with a loud punch as they exited lightspeed.

“We’ve caught them in the middle of their evacuation” Peavey breaks the silence as he turns to face Hux.

_No shit_. You already knew they were evacuating. Peavy had obviously become so useless that his only contribution could be stating what everyone else was currently observing. You allow yourself to look over to the men stood a few paces to your right side. Hux looked pleased, he was smiling but not his genuine smile. More a satisfactory grin rather than his beautiful beaming smile.

“I have my orders from Supreme Leader Snoke himself. This is where we snuff-out the resistance once and for all”. Hux’s intensity grew the more he continued, his tone became more menacing and his face somehow more determined. He looked like a man possessed, completely consumed by the opportunity to defeat the First Order’s final opponent. “Tell Captain Canaday to prime his dreadnought, incinerate their base, destroy their transport and obliterate their fleet!” he spits as he starts walking around the bridge. This was a side to him you hadn’t had chance to fully see yet. It was quite a change from the man you knew before to the General stood before you now, commanding a fleet with such ease and looking so good while doing it.

A small part of you was beaming with pride the more you watch him. The arrival of Captain Canaday’s Fulminatrix dreadnought pulls your attention back to the windows. The massive vessel fills most of the windows on the left side of the bridge. You notice the canons beneath the dreadnought begin to move in taking their aim. You quickly return to your monitor to double check everything was still okay with the Finalizer after exiting hyperspace. You turn to Kors,

“We need to ready the navigation equipment again and then we’ll get to work on trying to infiltrate the resistance navigations”

“Yes Lieutenant” she replies promptly. You both begin to get on with your work in silence as the scene continues to unfold.

“General”, your ears perk up at the female voice, they tended to perk up when anyone spoke to or about him if you were being completely honest, “resistance ship approaching. Launching shields in attack mode”

You turn your head over your shoulder to see his reaction,

“A single light fighter?” he asks incredulously with a scrunched face. He marches over to confirm its presence on the screen himself. He didn’t seem happy about it, but he wasn’t exactly phased by it either, it was just a single light fighter after all. You return to your screen when something catches your eye out of the window. It was the X-wing facing off against the massive Fulminatrix. He had to be insane surely, _that tiny ship vs. a dreadnought?_ As you ask yourself the question you realise there must be more to it. Not even the resistance would be that foolish. No, there was definitely a plan to this. You were pulled from your thoughts again when a male voice begun blaring across the bridge,

“Attention this is Commander Poe Dameron of the Republic fleet; I have an urgent communique for General Hux’

“This is General Hux of the First Order. The Republic is no more. Your fleet are rebel scum and war criminals. Tell your precious princess there will be no terms… there will be no surrender”

You knew it was totally inappropriate and distracting from the situation at hand, but his domineering attitude and tone had you needing to press your thighs together in some attempt to relieve the quickly building arousal.

There was a silent pause, the resistance pilot wasn’t responding to Hux’s rant which only added to your previous suspicions. Captain Peavey takes a step forward, so he was level with Hux,

“You and your friends are doomed! We will wipe your filth from the galaxy!” he barks out. You roll your eyes at his old imperial ways of going about the situation, all he was doing was wasting time meanwhile there was still nothing back from the pilot. “The First Order will eviscerate you all until you’re are nothing but-”

“General!” you interrupt Peavey somewhat frantically, spinning in your chair to face the men as it finally clicks, bypassing the Captain altogether even though he was technically your superior officer. Both men quickly turn to face you. Peavey had a look of thunder by being cut off by you while the Hux was stoically expressionless as usual. “He’s buying time, distracting us while they ready their fleet!”

You see Hux’s eyes widen ever so slightly from your theory. Usually a General probably wouldn’t trust the theory of a subordinate so quickly but Hux could rely on you to be right. He quickly spins,

“Open fire!” he yells over the pits of the bridge.

With his order the bridge erupts into a flurry of energy and activity as all officers attended their battle station. You and Kors spin to your monitors readying the Finalizer’s navigation systems for movement. You register Peavey and Hux both make their way to the window again on your right.

“He’s going for the dreadnought” Peavey states. He must have a habit of stating the obvious.

“Ha! He’s insane” Hux replies in a somewhat light-hearted tone. You allow yourself to look to your right, Peavey was still looking out the window but Hux was already looking at you. The hint of a smile was across his face, as if he wanted to share the moment with you. It would have felt good to be working with one another in these high adrenaline situations if it weren’t for the persistant risk of death. You give him a brief a smile before looking away again, careful not to draw any attention.

The orange glow of fire dancing across the Fulminatrix pulls you attention to the window. He was doing quite a bit of damage for just a single light fighter. You feel Hux walk closer to where you were sat to get a better view, you didn’t need to turn to know it was him. You can hear his breathing; it was steady but not completely calm. You hear one last steady exhale before marching off,

“Captain Canaday, why aren’t you blasting that puny ship?!” Hux yells into the hologram. His control was slipping, despite having multiple strategies, he hadn’t planned for this. To be fair, considering the power the First Order had against a limping resistance this should never have been a possibility. You hear Canaday bark something back when a line of TIE fighters finally make their way over the Fulminatrix to take on the X-wings.

“Finally” you hear Hux state over your shoulder, disdain laced his tone, disgusted that his fleet couldn’t get their shit together in a good enough time. There was now heavy exchange of fire between the TIE’s and X-wing’s, both sides making wins and losses. You watch with bated breaths along with many of the other officers.

Finally the Fulminatrix begins to fire on the resistance base down on D’Qar, though it was probably too late to do any real damage now. Just the one X-wing was left now being chased down by multiple TIE’s but he was still somehow surviving much to your disappointment.

“Resistance bombers approaching” there’s a shout from across the bridge.

You look up to see a line of bombers approaching in the distance, your heart starts to quicken again. That outside chance of the resistance mounting an attack didn’t seem so improbable now.

“I want every TIE fighter we have firing on that scum! ” Hux shouts.

“Yes Sir” Peavy shouts back.

“Patch me through to Canaday!” there was a momentary pause, “Captain Canaday, recharge the auto-canons and fire on that cruiser!” Hux barks.

There was a mixture of red and green blaster fire being exchanged across the hull of the Fulminatrix. The increased TIE presence seemed to be doing the job in taking them out though, one by one the bombers begin to fall off, until there was just one.

“Why aren’t they firing on that last bomber?” you whisper to yourself.

As if he had the exact same thought,

“What’s bloody taking them so long, there’s just one left” Hux exclaims to himself.

“Oh god” you whisper as you see the deployment of hundreds of bombs down onto the Fulminatrix. They keep falling, more and more as the bomber limps across the Fulminatrix. Finally the falling bombs seem to cease before the bomber is engulfed in the flames of its own destruction. Slowly fire seems to rumble down the length of the Fulminatrix, destroying everything in its wake.

There’s a barrage of footsteps making their way behind you to get a good look at the fiery ship now descending into the abyss of space, you pick out Hux’s heavier footsteps among them. The few remaining X-wings fly right by the bridge windows in some form of gloating before quickly re-joining their cruiser. In the blink of an eye the resistance was shooting off again, their destination unknown. You and Kors had been unable to hack their navigations for the next destination.

A crushing silence falls over everyone as officers of many ranks watch the loss of a valuable ship and the hundreds of officers along with it, all breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn’t them. You were one of them, you let out a heavy breath, just grateful you were both still alive. 

“Everyone get back to your stations!” Hux eventually barks out to which everyone responds by hurriedly scurrying back.

“General, Supreme Leader Snoke is making contact from his ship”

_Shit, this could not be good_. You look over to him, you could see him try to hide the mixture of nerves and fear he was probably feeling though to anyone else he would have appeared as impenetrable as usual.

“Excellent” he states determinedly with a nod of his head. He turns to start making his way off the bridge, “I’ll take it in my office” he continues before being abruptly halted by a blue image of Snoke flickering into appearance between the pits of the bridge.

It had been a while since you had seen the image of the Supreme Leader, he didn’t regularly make appearances to officers of the First Order. In fact if you didn’t know better you would have thought Hux was in charge rather than him.

"General Hux" the disembodied head states slowly and menacingly.

Hux immediately pulls his shoulders back and forces the clasped hands behind his back down even more. He was obviously surprised but doing his best to hide it in front of Snoke and everyone else. All the officers on the bridge had stopped what they were doing to face the projected image of the Supreme Leader, giving Hux an audience you knew he wouldn’t appreciate.

“Ah” he starts with an open mouth as he thinks through his best course of action in this scenario. He presses his lips down into a line, his face becoming more determined now his initial shock was wearing off, “good”. “Supreme Leade-

Hux was interrupted when his body was being slammed into the glossy floor below him, a strangled noise escaping him as he does so. As his body makes impact with the ground you quickly stand from your seat, hands forming fists by your sides and your body shaking as you fight to keep yourself in place and not run over to his side. You swallow down the bubbling anger quickly building within you towards the Supreme Leader.

You suddenly catch yourself, remembering that there were eyes everywhere you had to be careful of. You quickly scan the bridge, everyone’s eyes seemed to be fixated on Hux and the hologram. But as you scan the bridge further your eyes meet another. Your heart begins leaping out of your chest when you see Mitaka looking at you through the hologram, your breathing quickens as your mind starts rushing through all the things he must be thinking. _What was he going to do? What would it mean for you and Hux? Could you get away in time?_ But your initial panic starts to subside slightly the longer he stares back. You analyse him intently, maybe he was just looking at the hologram rather than through it to you. His face didn’t look like it belonged to someone who had just figured out a secret relationship.

Hux’s body is suddenly being pulled against the floor, through the hologram and spun around again, pulling your attention back to him. The side of his face was pressed into the floor, he was in a state of complete shock when his eyes flicker over to you. He holds your gaze for a split second but it was enough for you to feel everything he was. You hear him let out a small groan with his next breath as he processes what was happening to him. You start clenching your fists again, your nails breaking through the skin on your palms. You feel hot with anger at how Snoke was treating him, after everything he had given to the First Order. Hux had given his whole life, dedicated himself to only one thing and this was how he was treated?

“My disappointment… in your performance cannot be overstated”, each word was drawn out deliberately to increase Hux’s humiliation. You were breathing heavily again now, your chest probably visibly moving up and down as you see the trickle of bright red blood fall from his lip and down his chin. Your heart beats quicker, the thought of him being hurt, even if it was just a broken lip, flicks some primal switch in you that wants to defend him. Hux begins to lift himself off from the ground so he was knelt in front of the blue image, his mouth hanging open and the loose strands of his hair falling by the sides of his face,

“They can’t get away, Supreme Leader. We have them tied on the end of a string” he states in a determined voice, proving to Snoke that of course he had contingencies in place. Now you understand why he chose to keep the active hyperspace tracking a secret. It was always a good idea to have a back-up plan and Hux was always ten steps ahead of everyone else around him.

There was a long pause.

“Come to the Supremacy”, with his final word the hologram disappears, leaving a large empty space in the middle of the bridge. Officer’s that knew what was good for them had already turned back to their workstations to avoid the eye of Hux as he started getting himself off the floor. Anyone caught watching him would be sure to face extreme disciplinary action.

“Keep everyone at their stations” Hux barks at Peavy now at his full height again. Peavy looked suitably annoyed at being spoken to with such little regard by a younger man. Without wasting any more time Hux was straightening his uniform out as he starts marching across the bridge towards the exit. All your muscles start twitching, you know you shouldn’t but all you want to do is run after him and make sure he was okay. You start bouncing your leg the more you try convincing yourself of which course of action you should take.

“I’ll be right back” you say to Kors without looking at her, you were already half way across the bridge. You try looking as discrete as possible, as if you were just going to converse with another officer across the other side of the bridge. For the most part no one seemed to pay you any notice, they were busy with their work. You make a b-line for the exit, picking up your pace slightly in case anyone was to suddenly call you back onto the bridge or stop you from leaving. As soon as you’re clear of the bridge you pick up your pace again.

He’s storming down the corridor when you finally catch up with him, his arms swinging by his side, emphasising the anger you have no doubt he was feeling. There’s no way you’d be able to catch up with him without running but that would draw too much attention.

“General Hux!” you call after him down the corridor. He immediately stops in tracks, but you could already tell from just his back that it was somewhat begrudgingly. When he turns he brings up a hand to wipe away the small splodge of blood that had started to escape his cracked lip again. You take long strides to quickly close the gap in case he decided to suddenly march off again. You get within a pace of him, there were still a few officers and stormtroopers making their way down the corridor in different directions. You stand in front of him, trying to think of the right thing to say, in the meantime he wouldn’t meet your eyeline,

“Snoke shouldn’t have-

“Shouldn’t have what?” he snaps at you, still avoiding your gaze, instead examining the smudge of blood on his glove where he had wiped it from his lip. “Shouldn’t have made a fool out of me in front of the whole bridge? I failed.”

You angle your head downwards, still talking lowly, so as not to draw anyone’s attention to your conversation,

“You didn’t fail”

With one swift motion he finally meets your eyes as he immediately spits back,

“I’ve been too _distracted_. I should have known better than to allow personal pursuits interfere with my life’s work”

You lift your head and take a step back; all you can do is look at him in disbelief as you analyse his face to weigh how sincere he was being. You don’t like what you see. Your disbelief slowly builds into anger, your heart racing the more your mind repeats his words, a burst of adrenaline now shooting through your body. A part of you already knows deep down that he didn’t really mean it, how could the man who only just admitted that he killed his own father to protect you really mean that? His pride had been hurt and now he wanted everyone else to hurt just as much. You also knew he was under a lot of pressure to fulfil the wishes of Snoke whilst also hiding his relationship with you from the Supreme Leader and Ren, that kind of pressure never really disappears, it just lingers. But lashing out at one another wouldn’t make any of it any easier, you needed to protect one another. Like you promised.

Your eyes drift to a door on your right, you look behind him and then over your own shoulder. The corridor was clear. You take a fistful of his lapel, quickly pulling him towards the door and pushing him inside. He loses his balance a little, stumbling into the small dark storage room after you release your grip.

“Watch the uniform” he hisses, straightening himself out again. Something about his comment turns a switch in your mind. _He’s seriously worried about his fucking uniform right now?_ You growl at his comment as you turn and in one swift motion pin him up against a wall, your forearm pressing against his neck to keep him in place. He grunts as soon as he makes contact with the wall, he looks down at you, his face tensing in anger,

“How dare you” he snarls before trying to push himself off the wall, but you press your forearm harder into his neck to push him back into the wall, he grunts again.

“How dare _you_!” you spit back just as menacingly. “You are not going to start this shit with me Armitage. You wanted me; you can’t blame me every time something doesn’t go your way”

You stare back at one another both breathing heavily through open mouths, the exchange had taken the breath away from both of you. Both of your faces were tensing in anger back at the other, neither one of you dared to break the stare quite yet. Whoever broke first would be submitting. After a few more moments like this you finally see a glimmer of the real Armitage breaking through the façade of General Hux. He lets out a deep breath before dropping his head,

“I’m sorry” he says quietly before slowly lifting his head again. You immediately see in his eyes his sincerity. You unconsciously release the pressure you still had against his neck as you nod slowly back to him, your own features now also softening. He looked genuinely upset and mad at himself though you were unsure whether that was a result of his embarrassment or how he had spoken to you or both. It was probably both, no one was harsher on Hux than himself, he held himself to incredibly high standards and always worked hard to achieve what he had. The more you observe his sadness the more you feel the intense need to comfort him, as you had on the bridge, to tell him that everything was okay. You reach your face up to kiss him softly, there was a faint taste of blood from his cracked lip. You cup his cheeks with your hands, looking deeply into his eyes as if you could see into his soul,

“You have not failed”, you shake him slightly with every word, “you have the hyperspace tracking, you will find them again and you will finish them. I know you will”

He stares back a moment, his mouth slightly agape. He’d never had someone talk to him like this. His father never cared, never gave him any sincere encouragement or showed that he believed in him. The First Order wasn’t exactly a place where you could make sincere friendships either, more strategic alliances, apart from the few exceptions. Finally processing your words he closes his mouth and slowly nods back to you.

“I didn't mean what I said... I'm sorry” he sighs, “there’s just so much pressure… between trying to impress the Supreme Leader, keep Ren busy and…” he drops his head again as he trails off.

“And?” you question. He lifts his head to meet you again,

“And keep how I feel about you hidden”, a pause as you both consider the consequences of your relationship, “and believe me, it’s not easy” he continues with a small smile which you return. You grip his face a little firmer again,

“We’re going to be okay, we can both keep our thoughts hidden from these so called all-powerful force users”, you pause as you consider your next words and actions, “and in terms of you feeling under pressure… perhaps I could do something to relieve that?”

You press your body into his as he looks down at you, a brow raised in question at your comment. You reach your lips up to his again as you slowly move hands down over his torso and towards the belt of his trousers while he was temporarily distracted by your mouth. You deepen the kiss as you release his belt buckle. He lets out a noise into your mouth as he abruptly seizes your wrists in his hands. He pulls away from your face to regard you, his face resembled a mixture of confusion and frustration.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asks firmly. To be fair you could understand why he was coming across almost angry, he’d just admitted how getting caught was weighing on him and now you were pressed up against him in a storage room anyone could walk into. But he needed this, he needed to know he was respected, that he could yield his power and he needed it before he saw the Supreme Leader. He’d be no good if he went in this wound up. He needed to know he was powerful and intelligent, worthy of more than just the rank of General from the Supreme Leader.

“You need to relax” you whisper into his ear lowly before beginning to kiss along and under his jawline. You feel his grip on your wrists begin to loosen the more you kiss. You unthread yourself from his grip, placing one hand behind his back between his jacket and coat to pull yourself tighter against him. Your other hand returns to his crotch, you feel his outline, beginning to palm him over his trousers. After a few moments like this he brings his hands up to your cheeks, pulling away from your kisses to seize control by crashing his lips into yours.

You giggle into his mouth at his sudden change in attitude, giving in to his cravings. His sudden change in pace spurs you on more. You slither your hand beneath his trousers to feel more of him, his length was hard now, practically begging for more attention. You take him into your hand to remove his member completely. Hux pulls away from your lips, for a moment you expect him to stop you again.

“You’ve made me entirely unprofessional since I’ve returned to the Finalizer” he breathes out heavily looking down at you. You smile up at him as you slowly lower yourself to your knees in front of him, never breaking from his gaze.

You glance at his erect member in front of you, you run your tongue across your lips to wet them as saliva begins pooling in your mouth. You return to his face, he still looked slightly tense, probably from the persistent threat of anyone walking in or hearing, but he had an air of smugness around him too, the kind any man would probably have at having a woman on her knees in front of him.

You take hold of him at his base as you keep his gaze,

“You’re not unprofessional General…”, you bring you face closer to his member, your lips and warm breath fluttering over his length as you talk, “you’re just finally claiming the power and respect that always belonged to you”. You flutter your lashes up at him just long enough to see his eyes begin to close in pleasure as he tips his head back against the wall before you finally take him into your mouth.

You begin moving your lips up over his hot smooth flesh before moving back down again to circle his head slowly with your tongue. You move the hand still gripping his base to stroke his now slick shaft while slowly and deliberately moving your tongue over his head. You notice the sound of heavy breathing begin to permeate the air of the room which only spurred you on more, you begin to move your tongue quicker and suck harder.

A low hum comes from Hux at you quickened pace, he lifts his head off the wall to watch you move your mouth around his length. He moves his hands to rest on your head, a gloved hand now lightly playing and pulling on your ponytail. You moan with him still in your mouth, your own core now feeling glaringly empty.

“You think this is the sort of power and respect I should be receiving from all my subordinates?” he asks lowly and with a mischievous smile. He was teasing. You stop the attention you were giving his head to take his whole length into your mouth, so he was hitting the back of your throat. His smile quickly disappears as his mouth drops open and an involuntary moan slips out. Just the reaction you wanted; you could tease too.

You pull back with a sloppy pop to look up at him, a mischievous grin now covering your features.

“It’s the power and respect _one_ chosen officer should have the fortune to provide… and I’m always ready to serve you General”

You feel his gloved fingertips curl to grip your scalp a little tighter,

“You’re insatiable” he hisses with a stare intense enough to burn through you. You hum back at him in delight when you feel his hands guide you back to his length. Just as you take him into your mouth,

“No more teasing now Y/N… that’s an order from your General” he says, his voice somewhat strained. You hum over him again as you glide your lips all the way up to his base. He had control of your pace now with his hands on the back of your head. You start moving up and down with some rhythm, his tip hitting the back of your throat every time as he fucks your throat harder and deeper. A mixture of his panting and your light gagging filled the room. He repeatedly slams himself into the back of your throat, his cock increasingly twitching the faster he goes. Your eyes begin to water, and drool escapes your lips with the building intensity and ferocity of his movements. Looking up to see the expression on his face was all the pleasure you needed. He finally spills into you, his warm release sliding down your throat as a muffled groan escapes his lips and he keels at the waist, the sound of his pleasure causing your own insides to tense in desire and lust for him. You swallow everything he was giving you willingly as his pace begins to falter. After a few more pumps he removes himself from your mouth entirely and tips his weight against the wall, still lightly panting.

You look up at him smiling as he tries to recover himself. He looks down at you, you bring a finger to the corner of your mouth where a bit of his cum had escaped, retrieving it on your finger you make a point of bringing it up to your mouth to suck on. He smirks down at you, obviously pleased with how you had chosen to ‘serve’ him.

You stand again, taking in the man before you, you still want more of him, you crave his taste. You grip onto his waist and reach your head up; you kiss him passionately before sucking on his bottom lip. Hux groans back again making you smile. You eventually pull away to meet his eyes again,

“Has any of that pressure been relieved General?”

“I feel like a new man Lieutenant” he replies smugly as he tucks himself away into his trousers again.

“Good, now go and impress our Supreme Leader like I know you can”. You kiss him on his cheek before making your way to the door. You give him one last smile over your shoulder before you leave. He hadn’t moved at all from where you left him leant against the wall, as if he was still stunned or in shock at how events had unfolded. As much as you didn’t want to, you turn back to face the door and make a speedy exit.

You re-join the other officers in the corridor, no one really paying you any attention. You start making your way down the corridor back towards the bridge. You pass Mitaka as you do so, still feeling awkward from earlier you chose to avoid eye contact, you didn’t have time for that situation today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long again! The next couple of chapters are drafted though so shouldn't be too long! Hope you enjoy x


	13. Promotion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a thousand apologies for how late this is! I've had a lot go on recently with family and my job, but nothing too unusual for 2020! I hope you enjoy and sorry again for the delay. I'm starting on the next chapter now! x

HUX P.O.V

“I love you” Hux whispers into the now empty storage room. He was in complete awe of her.

His mind was still working overtime, trying to process the whole interaction. How it had gone from him treating Y/N so horribly, blaming her for how he was feeling and yet she would still only prove how much she loved him. It felt so foreign to him having someone rooting for him, wanting him to do well. But he liked it, it was comforting, and knowing that Y/N believed in him only spurred him on. Going to this meeting with Snoke, _and doing it for Y/N_ , reinvigorated him, reminded him of who he was and what he could do. He’d go to Snoke and prove his worth, prove why he was a General at such a young age and why he should be far more than just a General. If it weren’t so blasphemous he’d like to prove why he should be Supreme Leader too, how his tactics and methods could push the First Order over the finish line once and for all. _That way he could keep her safe too_.

With a fresh sense of determination Hux pushes himself off the wall to straighten out his uniform and smooth his hair back before leaving the small room. He re-enters the now busier corridor, filled with officers scurrying to their various tasks. As he begins striding down the corridor he picks out one officer in particular among the faces.

“Sir” Mitaka states deadpan and with a bow of the head upon seeing his superior. Hux holds his gaze for a moment with a scowl before returning his attentions back to the end of the corridor. He didn’t need to give Mitaka a second more of his attention, though he didn’t trust the Lieutenant. Something about the man made him uneasy, maybe it was his intentions with Y/N, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it yet, but he would.

\---

For once Hux wasn’t using the long lift ride up to rehearse his lines for the Supreme Leader, he was strangely calm considering everything. He realised that having Y/N was all he really needed in his life, his career was a mere bonus now and not his sole purpose. It was then that Hux came to the revolution that his whole existence now revolved around her. Of course he still thought the First Order would be better with him in charge and Ren removed entirely but none of it would mean anything without her to share it with.

While these revelations filled his body with warmth he’d have to concentrate overtime on keeping his true feelings concealed before seeing Snoke, his thoughts were more valuable than ever now in the wrong hands.

The large heavy metal doors slide open to Supreme Leader Snoke’s throne room, revealing the long walkway to the throne itself. Hux suspected the long walkway and bridge were there to intimidate anyone who entered, making them walk in silence while the leader stared them down the whole time. The throne room always seemed to have a suffocating atmosphere too, as if all the oxygen was being sucked away, making the remaining air sit heavy on all those who entered. But today Hux wasn’t feeling that oppressive force on him and the air felt practically light. He had never anticipated how loving and being loved could have the power to strip someone like Snoke of his intimidation tactics.

“General Hux” comes the loud deep voice of the leader slumped on his throne.

Hux was still a good few paces away from the acceptable distance the leader liked his subordinates to address him from. Hux makes a mental note of the imperial guards, always there, always ready to kill those who may betray the leader or the order. They had an array of different weapons, each one looking more torturous than the previous.

Upon reaching the designated spot he pulls his shoulders back to achieve the perfect form, though he was so often in perfect military form his shoulders couldn’t go back much further.

“Supreme Leader” Hux greets the being in front of him, his tone determined and unafraid, which probably confused Snoke given how their last interaction had played out. There was a moment of silence as Snoke scrutinized Hux, trying to decipher the almost imperceptible change in his demeanour.

“I sense a change in you General”, there was a pause as Snoke pushed himself up ever so slightly in his throne, angling his face to analyse Hux closer, “…something… no”, Snoke’s tone now clearly displayed his curiosity, “… _someone_ new”.

For the first time since entering the throne room Snoke had gotten to Hux, his physiology immediately reacting to the risk he now saw facing him and Y/N. His heart starts slamming against his chest and he can practically feel the blood rushing round his body getting him into his fight or flight mode.

Snoke allowed a long silent pause to draw out, which only gave more time for Hux’s reactions to intensify.

“A girl” Snoke finally continues, drawing out each syllable.

He felt sick now, something was already starting to rise up his throat which he quickly tries swallowing back down. He couldn’t give anything away. Hux maintained his perfect outward form while every part of his physiology was screaming out at where this line of questioning was going.

“The girl who’s change in flight course got us to D’Qar”.

Snoke’s reference to Y/N in terms of work made it a good time for Hux to finally interject and steer the topic around work.

“Lieutenant L/N… Supreme Leader” Hux clarifies, his voice as steady as he could make it.

“Ah yes” he chuckles back menacingly. “L/N” he draws her name out somewhat ominously. “A name I have heard in the mind and on the lips of many a First Order officer recently”.

Hux desperately wanted to give into his own mind and let it run wild trying to figure out what that meant. But doing so would only increase the chances of Snoke worming his way in and discovering the truth so he keeps himself focussed, not allowing any signs of his concern show.

After what feels like an eternity Snoke finally continues,

“A skilled officer indeed, I sense she would have been useful in avoiding the destruction of Starkiller base”

Hux inadvertently flinches at the mere mention of Starkiller base, a reflexive response now whenever it was mentioned, it was both his greatest achievement and greatest failure. Normally Hux would have seen the comment as a stinging reference to the failure the First Order had burdened him with, though anyone with half a brain cell knew the real culprit was Ren, but now he sensed an opportunity. An opportunity for both him and her.

“Lieutenant L/N is indeed a highly intelligent and diligent officer Supreme Leader… I believe her input could be extremely valuable to the High Command”

The longer Hux allowed himself to consider the proposal the more he was convinced it was a good one. He could finally right the wrong from all those years ago, get Y/N the rank she deserved. It would mean having an additional ally in the high command too, a valuable commodity in itself. It would mean getting to work with her more, more closely and the closer he could keep her the safer she would be.

“General, you’ve never given your sponsorship to any officer for High Command”

“None have been remotely suitable” Hux quickly replies, his usual tone of disdain evident once again.

Snoke stares down at Hux for a few silent moments, trying to unravel the man before him. Hux holds his stare the entire time, not giving in to the reaction Snoke wanted from him.

“You wish for me to promote the girl General”

“Just stating the facts in relation to her skillset Supreme Leader” Hux replies quickly but smoothly. Snoke nods his head and flurries his hand in disinterest as he leans back into his throne,

“As you wish… she may be promoted to the rank of Captain, member of First Order High Command”

“Yes, Supreme Leader”

“Now”, Snoke’s tone had now turned more focussed and interested again, “tell me how we have the resistance tied on the end of a string”

Hux lets a smile tug at his lips, this is what he was good at, his technologies, his opportunity to prove his innovativeness.

“I have devised a new technology… active hyperspace tracking… it means we can track the resistance through lightspeed…”, Hux lets a pause draw out before delivering his final blow, “…they cannot escape us”

“Tied on the end of a string indeed” Snoke chuckles back impressed. “Well, well, well General… even by your standards this is impressive”, a pause, “the girl, L/N, helped with this too?”

“She did Sir” Hux replies, the hands behind his back tensing into fists at mention of her name again.

“It would appear her appointment to High Command is overdue… I sense the First Order’s reach of power will only accelerate with the both of you”

Hux almost allowed himself to smile at the endorsement of the Supreme Leader but caught himself before he let any emotion peek through.

The interaction was interrupted by a woosh from behind as the heavy doors opened once again. Hux twists his head over his shoulder to see Ren making his way into the throne room. It was the first time he’d seen him all day despite the planned attack, Ren most definitely had his own agenda. He showed very little interest in the First Order for someone who wanted to lead it.

“Oversee preparations for our arrival General” Snoke pulled Hux’s attention back to him. Hux gave the leader a strong nod before turning to make his way out of the throne room.

Hux was feeling good. He’d proven to the Supreme Leader that he wasn’t incompetent, that he had a plan for every eventuality as any good leader would. He’d also gotten Y/N the promotion she had been long overdue, a particular success given he had essentially taken away her last opportunity at promotion, albeit for good reason.

Hux and Ren were quickly approaching one another on the bridged walkway. Hux was feeling such a mixture of achievement and relief after his meeting that for the first time in a long time he looked at Ren and didn’t feel pure hatred penetrate every fibre of his being. Instead he felt almost above him, above all of his pathetic behaviour and tantrums, Y/N filled his world now. Hux could feel Ren’s eyes on him even through the mask. That being said, Hux never could resist the opportunity to play mind games with the force user. Just as they are about to pass by one another Hux adjusts his pace slightly slower to shoot Ren a sickeningly sweet grin, savouring every moment he saw Ren trying to figure out what he had to be happy about.

Ren cantered his head slightly towards Hux before Hux refocussed his attentions on the door ahead of him. When Hux finally makes it back inside the lift he turns to watch Ren face the Supreme Leader, the now closing doors preventing him from seeing how the interaction would play out.

\---

As soon as his boots touch the ground of the Finalizer’s hangar Hux starts typing a message to Y/N. Attaching the information from the active hyperspace tracking, he tells her to immediately set the next course to catch the resistance and to meet him in his office as soon the Finalizer enters hyperspace. Hux knew Y/N was quick so he’d have to be quicker. There should be enough time for him to get things in place before he saw her.

YOUR P.O.V.

Your heart starts beating a little quicker just from seeing his name appear on your datapad. Without even opening the message you knew he must have seen the Supreme Leader by now. So at the very least he had survived the interaction. Your mind begins to rush through at what could have possibly transpired, whether he was okay or not. You tap on the message.

It was coordinates from the hyperspace tracking and a request to see you immediately afterwards. Your immediate thought was relief but that was quickly replaced with more questions. His request to see you made you worry that something must have happened with Snoke. Then again you were both still alive and if Snoke knew you most definitely wouldn’t be. Desperate to find out more answers you don’t hesitate in entering the new coordinates so you could get to him quicker.

“Lieutenant L/N” Peavy shouts across the bridge from somewhere behind you. You roll your eyes before turning to face the man and wiping any expression from your face. It had already been a long day and you really weren’t in the mood for his superiority complex right now. You don’t acknowledge him verbally, instead you simply raise your eyebrows at him. His face falters at your lack address but he recomposes himself before speaking.

“Set our-“

“Already done Captain Peavy”, you cut him off. He looks confused initially, unsure of how an officer of lower rank was alerted to the new information before he was. He tries to hide his new surprise by barking an order at an officer behind you, giving him time to come up with a suitable response. Peavy slowly moves his eyes back on to you, you can practically feel his hatred radiating out of him, you revel in it. He keeps his eyes locked with yours, some feeble attempt to intimidate you, before finally turning to return to the centre of the bridge. Once re-situated he shouts across the bridge for everyone to ready themselves to enter lightspeed again.

You return to your monitor with Kors to ensure everything was okay entering lightspeed. The Finalizer lurches forwards again, the stars now rushing past the windows. You look down at the coordinates again, by your judgement it would only be two hours before you arrived at wherever the resistance had fled to. Without looking or speaking to anyone you discretely leave your workstation to meet Hux in his office.

\---

You knock on the door with urgency, you were desperate to find out how the meeting had gone now and whether he was okay.

“Enter” you hear from inside.

You quickly make your way in closing the door behind you, you were halfway across the room to where he was sat behind his desk when he addresses you.

“Lock the door” he states smoothly, not looking up from his monitor.

You stop in your tracks looking at him for a moment, trying to decipher how everything had gone, though it was proving quite difficult from his expressionless complexion. Although, his features weren’t as tense as normal, if anything they were verging on being relaxed.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” he asks in the same smooth voice. There was a new edge to him, a quiet but commanding confidence quite different from how he was before the meeting.

By this point your nerves were on the edge.

“Armitage” you start, your voice clearly showing your frustration with him.

He finally looks up at you, straight in the eyes.

“Lock. The. Door”

Something told you not to question him again and instead comply. Begrudgingly you walk back to the door, making a point to turn the lock dramatically. When you face him again he was sat back in his chair, his eyes raking over you, his feet on the desk. Looking very un-Hux like.

“The meeting went well then?”

He shrugs his shoulders, a smug smile starting to form across his face.

You let out an exasperated sigh. “Armitage” you start again as you begin walking towards his desk.

“Stay there” he orders you, cutting you off before you had chance to start what you wanted to say. Without even thinking you immediately stop, a part of you annoyed at yourself that he could command you so easily, and even worse that you enjoyed every second of it. He snickers as if he could hear your inner conflict. His eyes never leave you, becoming more intense by the second, the bright green turning to deeper emeralds. He gets up slowly, almost methodically, to make his way over to you. His intensity was becoming overwhelming, you can feel your chest moving up and down more dramatically with every step he takes.

He was stood directly in front of you now, his darkened eyes still boring into you. You’re so captivated by his eyes you don’t notice his hand come up; he rests his fingers under your chin to lift your face up more towards his own. He starts to move his own head downwards, his mouth dropping open slightly. You match his movements ready to finally touch him. You feel his warm breath on your lips as you close your eyes ready to taste him. His lips finally brush lightly against yours before he abruptly pulls away again. You open your eyes in bewilderment at where his lips had suddenly disappeared to, your first instinct is to try following him with your own. But he immediately moves his thumb to your chin to get a good grip of your face so he can keep you in place. He crouches down slightly to meet your eyeline, another smug smile appearing.

“Wait here”

Hux marches off into his refresher, you remain in place, not moving a muscle. He’s done a perfect job in getting you worked up, your core was already aching for him. All you want is to feel him, smell him, taste him. The thought alone fills your mouth with saliva.

“Undress” he barks from the refresher.

You swallow the saliva in your mouth before promptly turning your attentions to your uniform. You unzip your jacket and remove your undertop. You then kick off your boots and slide your trousers off, so you were just left in your black bra and underwear.

“Turn around” he barks at you again.

You tentatively turn so you were facing the wall directly opposite the archway to his refresher. You feel vulnerable, exposed, as you wait for him in nothing but your underwear. You hear him behind you, the hairs on your skin begin to stand as his heavy footsteps grow closer. Every part of you was screaming to turn around and face him but you don’t give in.

Suddenly something was being pulled over your hands and up your arms, a fabric, warmed by his grip. He drops the heavy material over your shoulders. You lift each arm in front of you, examining the garment, confusion was at the forefront of your mind. You didn’t know what you were expecting him to do but it definitely wasn’t this.

“What is this?” you ask, finally turning around to face him.

“Your new uniform… Captain” he finishes with a small smile.

“Captain” you whisper, repeating the word back to him. You snap your attention back to the sleeves, examining them much more closely now, only now did you notice the rank insignia on the sleeve. You look up to him questioningly, you had so many questions, and this answered none of them. Hux looks down at you, a knowing smile as though he could hear your confusion, but he also looked pleased with himself and proud of you.

“Why?” you ask, shaking your head slightly with disbelief.

He brings a hand up to your cheek, cupping it as his thumb lightly brushes over your skin,

“It’s not _only_ me that can see your brilliance Y/N… you are now Captain L/N, member of First Order High Command”

You bring a hand to rest over his. His words meant everything to you. It was quite poignant in an odd way that it should be Hux awarding your promotion after you had spent so long hating him thinking he had taken it away from you before.

Hux breaks your gaze, allowing himself to slowly rake over your body. You observe him savouring every part of you, from the exposed flesh of your legs up to your abdomen, over your breasts and up to your face again. He sucks in his lips,

“It suits you” he says quietly, a glimmer now appearing in his emerald eyes but with a blink of an eye his soft edge was gone,

“Turn around” he orders. Without thinking you comply, that energy he had when you first entered his office had returned again and was already having an effect on your core.

Facing the wall again you hear him walk away, back to his refresher you presume. You use the moment of solitude to inspect your new rank again, it didn’t quite feel real. You still needed to get the full explanation behind your unexpected promotion. You hear his footsteps again, you drop your arms to the side, as though you were readying yourself, though you weren’t quite sure what for.

You can feel his presence behind you, but he doesn’t say anything, doesn’t touch you either. Your heart starts fluttering around your chest in anticipation of what might come next.

Suddenly there was a sensation of cold metal being pressed against the back of one of your calf’s. The sudden coldness makes you suck in a sharp breath. You look down to find the source, but your new coat was blocking you from seeing what it was and you didn't dare turn around. Whatever it was, was now being slowly pulled up the back of your leg leaving shivers in its wake.

It felt like a rounded edge, but you couldn’t figure out what it could belong to. Just as Hux brought the undisclosed object up to the back of your thigh be brings it inwards between your legs, letting it lightly graze over your slit. You let out a long breath through your nose, your head tipping back a fraction, it wasn’t much but it was finally some friction over your now aching core.

“The job will be more dangerous” he finally breaks the heavy silence. He brushes the object over your slit and up over your backside before removing it from your flesh entirely. You internally groan from the removal of contact with him again. You hear him stand again,

“Turn around”

You do so immediately. You look him up and down, looking for whatever it was he had been using but you couldn’t find it. He had his hands behind his back, hiding whatever it was.

“Close your eyes” he says slowly with a devilish smile.

You gulp before doing as he said. The cold rounded edge was returned to your body, being skimmed over your sex once again. Just enough to tease you but not deliver the relief you were so desperate to receive. You want to press your thighs around it, but something told you not to considering you had no idea what the object was.

“Do you think you can handle it?” he asks ominously.

“Hmmmm” you replied, not able to concentrate on anything other than your core.

The cold metal leaves your body again,

“The increased risk… the danger”, he drags it up your abdomen and over your breasts until it reaches the base of your neck. He turns the object to the side so you could feel more of its surface area cover your neck.

“Open” he commands.

You open your eyes to be greeted by a blaster pointing upwards towards your head resting on your neck. You immediately widen your eyes at the apparent danger it posed, fear consumed you for a moment before you turn your attention to the man holding it. His eyes had somehow grown even darker, his pupils completely blown with desire. He catches you looking at him before bringing the nozzle of the blaster up to your cheek, attempting to caress the side of your face lovingly with the lethal weapon. You gulp again.

“This is for you” he finally says, dropping the blaster down from your face and turning the weapon for you to take.

Tentatively, you take the weapon in your own hands, inspecting each side. As you study the unique mechanics of the blaster,

“I designed it for you… it’s programmed to your fingerprints alone”.

So you were never in any _real_ danger the whole time he was teasing you with it, but you appreciated the act, nonetheless.

“How did you get this so quickly?”

He drops his eyes to the blaster in your hands, he looks thoughtful.

“I’m always working on new weaponry for the Order and when I completed this the only person I could see using it was you”, his thoughtfulness gives way to a tenseness, “you should carry it on you all the time”.

“All the time?” you repeat his words back to him questioningly.

“Yes, a Captain should always carry a weapon”

“But I’ve never seen you carry a weapon _all_ the time”

A mischievous smile covers his features as he leans in to you,

“Well… the only weapon I need when I’m around you is my tongue”, he wasn’t wrong. “It’s all I need to completely debilitate you” he breathes heavily over you, “isn’t it?”

He was absolutely, without question, correct. You were tensing, your walls pulsing around nothing just at the mere insinuation at what he could with his tongue. Your wetness now soaking your underwear. You smile, not quite wanting to agree with what you both knew was totally accurate.

“Anyway, I’m always armed” he says as he lifts his arm up. With the raise of his eyebrows and an upturn at his lips a small silver dagger pops up from his sleeve. Your eyes widen from the sudden appearance. _Did he really carry that on him all the time?_

“I just don’t make it known to everyone” he continues as the dagger disappears back into his sleeve.

He takes a step back to take you all in, wearing nothing but your underwear, a new coat and carrying your custom blaster. His mouth drops open a fraction and his eyes widen,

“You look every part a Captain”, he takes a step closer to you again. He takes a single finger to hook beneath your underwear, “now”, he forcefully pulls you in closer to him by your underwear, your cores almost connected, your breath hitches in your throat. “I want you to ride me wearing that new coat”.

Your mouth drops open, a small whimper escaping, he’d been stoking little fires within you since the moment you entered his office but now you were raging for him.You didn't plan on waiting any longer. You take his face in your hands, dropping your new custom blaster to the ground in the process, and pull your lips onto his, finally getting to taste and touch him in the way you had been aching to for quite some time now. Almost like reflex Hux wraps his arms around you to pull you tight against his own body.

The kiss was heavy, both now desperate for contact after the drawn out interaction. He slowly moves his hands down to the backs of your thighs before lifting you up, you wrap your legs around him, never breaking your kiss. The feeling of his growing length grazing your core only flares your desire. You feel giddy, as if you were drunk on him.

Hux starts walking with you wrapped around him, you don’t open your eyes to see where he’s taking you. He starts to lower you both as he takes a seat on the edge of the sofa in his office, you now straddling his core. You take his lower lip between your teeth, nibbling softly on him to which he responds by gripping your ass even tighter. You release his lip from your teeth, he growls at the release of his lip before moving to take his coat off,

“I’d prefer it if you kept that on General Hux” you comment.

He looks pleased with your request,

“As you wish Captain L/N”

You unzip his jacket to reveal his bare chest. You forcefully push him back against the sofa by his shoulders so you can kiss the length of his chest, moving slowly downwards. Your own excitement begins to increase the closer you get.

Your hands find his member before your lips do. He felt eager to be realised now. You smile as you use your hands to massage his length through his trousers. Hux must notice your small unconscious smile,

“Have you found something you like Captain?” he muses coolly.

You flick your eyes up to meet his, you hold him in your gaze for a moment before slowly returning down to his chest to kiss up towards his face. Your kisses graze along his jaw, he tips his head back a fraction, breathing heavily. Your kisses reach his ear,

“I’m not sure… I think I need to take a closer look”, Hux immediately tightens his grip around you as he hums,

“You’ve always been such a tease Y/N” he breathes.

“You love it Armi” you whisper back before promptly turning your attentions to his member.

You work his zipper to finally free him. You feel him tense as your curl your fingers around his length, slowing beginning to move your hand up and down, lightly pulling and squeezing him as you went. Hux shifts his weight, using his arms to prop himself up as he gets a better look at your work. A couple more pumps and his attentions seemed to return to you, his hands find the clasp of your bra to skilfully remove it quickly and throw it across his office.

He repositions again beneath you to sit himself up more, his hands now resting on the small of your waist as his lips find your breasts. His soft thick lips flurry across your flesh, nipping and sucking on your nipples which only spurs on your pumping motion. He moves his attention to your other breast as you keep your attentions on his length, you begin to rock yourself on his lap, you needed his attention elsewhere now. As if he could hear your thoughts, or more likely just knew your body language all too well, Hux smooths his hands down from your waist to grip the side of your underwear for a moment before tearing the fabric off your body completely.

The action stuns you into paralysis for a moment as you look down at him.

“I want you” he states firmly before pausing for a moment, “now” he finishes the demand with a nod.

You stare back into his eyes, his authority sends a bolt of attraction throughout your body, you finally regain enough of your senses to nod slowly back at him.

Without letting any more time pass, he seizes the moment moving his hands to encourage you to lift yourself onto him. Not completely in control of your own actions, you willingly comply.

The next thing you know he’s spreading you open and filling you completely, his teeth sink into the slither of exposed skin on your shoulder as the entire length of his member was surrounded by your core. There was a brief pause as you both revelled in the closeness of one another. His hands grip your hips tightly as he sought to control the rhythm of you riding up and down his length. His tip stroking you deeply every time he pulled you back on with his increasing rhythm and pace. You tangle your fingers amongst his hair, pulling his head closer into your chest. The warmth of his cheek now pressed against your exposed skin as heavy panting fills the room.

You pull away from for a moment,

“Is it the usual order of business to fuck your new Captain as we head into another attack General?” you breathe.

Hux lets a short laugh escape between his heavy breaths,

“Not at all… but I just couldn’t pass up on the opportunity Captain”

“Good” you breathe back just before attempting to usurp control of the pace to quicken the rate at which he was stroking your sweet spot but Hux keeps a tight grip on your hips to control the rhythm.

“Inpatient are we?” he quips. “Not even an impending attack could stop me from savouring every second of you”, he moves a hand to run down a lapel of your coat, “in this coat”, he returns his hand to your hip, “riding me to release”. His sweet words only kindle your raging fire further, you tense your walls around him earning you a low guttural growl and a tighter squeeze of your hips. “Then again… maybe there has been enough teasing for one day” he pants. You'd had the effect you were hoping for.

Without hesitation he slams you back onto his lap, his length hitting harder and stroking deeper, you moan into the room. You feel as though the breath had been taken out of your lungs, and now you can hardly catch it again as Hux keeps up the new pace. You release was approaching, and quick. You anchor yourself to him by wrapping your hands around his neck, you’d soon be crumbling above him.

“Mmmmm yes!” you splutter out.

It only took a couple more thrusts before your muscles were spasming and pure euphoria ripped through every cell of your body. Hux keeps up his pace for a few moments before you feel him throbbing inside you and warmth spilling out.

“Fuuuuuck Y/N” he moans still thrusting as he continues to spill inside you.

His pace eventually subsides giving way to the heavy breaths interchanged between the two of you. Hux slumps back against the backrest of the sofa, you follow after resting on top of him, your head nestling just beneath his chin. He wraps his arms around you. You stay like this for a few moments, completely spent after your session together.

After a few more moments of blissfull silence,

“We should probably get back to work” you say light-heartedly. Hux snorts in response,

“Probably” he matches your tone.

You move to lift yourself up off of him. Now standing you look around his office to see your clothes scattered across the floor. Your eyes rest on the discarded and torn underwear, you didn’t really want to have to go commando the rest of the day as you head into god only knows what with the resistance.

“There’s a spare set of underwear and uniform in my wardrobe in the refresher”

You move your eyes to rest on him, a smile spreading across your face.

“You had this all planned out didn’t you?”

Hux looks pleased with himself,

“A good General has a plan for every potential scenario”

You laugh at his response shaking your head as your turn to head into his refresher.

Now re-dressed in your fresh underwear and uniform you carry your new coat in your arms as you head back into the office. Hux was sat behind his desk again, already re-composed and studying his monitor intently. He never could spend that much time away from work.

“So are you going to tell me?”

“What” he replied without moving his attention.

“How this happened?” you lift your arm which had the new coat draped over it. Hux flickers his eyes over to the coat and then up to your face.

“I already told you…”, his tone was softer, and his eyes started to glisten. He looked as though he were genuinely upset that you didn’t believe him. “Snoke has been impressed by your performance recently…”, he stands up to move over to you. He places his hands on your upper arms, “…I simply suggested that the High Command could benefit from your input… which it will”

You continue looking into his eyes, he was being completely sincere and honest with you. He was allowing his tightly guarded vulnerability peek through once again just to show you how valuable you were the First Order and more importantly, him.

You sniff audibly, to distract yourself from your emotions from spilling over.

“Well I don’t think I can work that closely with you General”. Hux’s face immediately scrunches into confusion,

“Why’s that?” he asks harshly.

A sly smile tugs at you lips,

“Well I won’t be able to jump onto your lap whenever I feel like it with the other members of High Command there”

Hux’s face immediately softens at the understanding of your previous comment.

“Hmmmm yes, I didn’t quite consider the willpower it was going to take not to touch you when working so closely”

He squeezes your upper arms before returning to his desk.

“How long was it going to take to reach the resistance?” he asks in his General-voice.

“Approximately two hours”

“We’d better get going then”, he starts tapping on his keypad, “make sure everything is prepared for when we reach them”

“Yes General”, you move to head towards the door.

“Don’t forget to put your new coat on… I’m looking forward to seeing you stride down the corridors in it”, you smile as you return the coat to your shoulders. “And don’t forget the blaster” he says almost warningly, you could tell he was being serious about carrying it at all times and his desire to keep you protected only filled you with more warmth.

You attach the blaster to the holster on your belt, now concealed by the coat. You glance up to see Hux smiling behind his monitor but not directly looking at you. You match his smile before moving back to the door to unlock it. You let out a heavy breath, mentally readying yourself to return into the Order with your new promotion. Your time had finally come.


	14. Supremacy

You’d been receiving a lot of stares since returning to the bridge wearing your new coat that clearly displayed the promotion. There were lots of side glances, you had no doubt that at least half the officer’s on the bridge had already planned on how they would kill you in their heads. Kors had congratulated you, but she was the only one. And really she likely only did it because she knew there would be a step up in her duties with you now splitting your time between navigations and the High Command. The First Order wasn’t exactly the sort of workplace you went around congratulating colleagues on their promotions. It was more about competition and survival; your colleagues were just another hurdle to jump to keep your life. But you would be more than happy to disabuse anyone of the notion that your promotion wasn’t earned.

Hux had returned to the Supremacy after your rendezvous in his office. Snoke had been impressed enough with his performance and the new hyperspace tracking to let him work out of the more advanced ship. Plus it was where the active hyperspace tracking was being run from. You feel strangely jealous of all the other officers on the Supremacy being on the bridge with him while you were stuck on the Finalizer. It had been the longest time spent on different vessels since he had come back to the Finalizer. It felt different without him, an aching feeling of loneliness was already setting in despite being surrounded by others. Even when you weren’t together on the Finalizer it was as if you could still feel him there, just knowing he was there was enough. You truly couldn’t imagine how you could live your life if you lost him now. And the worst part of being separated was that he had left you with Captain Peavy, of all people. The old man who had only just come out of hibernation again to assert his ego over as many officers as possible. Pretty much as soon as Hux left Peavy was standing in the middle of the bridge, lording it over everyone there. Although, the expression on his face when you came back to the bridge, your new coat flurrying with your new confident gait was absolutely priceless and would hopefully be enough to see you through the rest of the day with him.

The navigations monitor alerts you that you are close to the final destination, the resistance. Kors begins to shout the countdown again to alert everyone on the bridge to ready themselves.

You get a good grip of your workstation just before the ship lurches forward as you exit lightspeed. There was a small group of ships in the distance, one much larger cruiser surrounded by smaller vessels. There was a stillness for a moment as you all waited for some kind of reaction to come from the resistance. You wished you could be on their cruiser right now, the sheer panic that must be ripping through all the personnel that they had already been caught after destroying one of your dreadnaughts. Surely they understood that the Order would be coming for them with a vengeance now. The other Imperial vessels begin to arrive around you,

“What is that?” Kors whispers as a shadow is cast over the windows and inside the bridge. You both look up out of the window,

“That’s the Supremacy” you reply with a sense of awe, the significance of the ship and the person it carried clear from your tone, “Snoke’s ship” you continue quietly. It was an impressive ship, a mega-class star dreadnaught, absolutely massive and full to the brim with TIE’S and terrain vehicles, you didn’t even know how many hangars it had. It was used as the flagship for the Supreme Leader though it scarcely made an appearance in most attacks. Snoke preferred to let Hux do most of the dirty work from the Finalizer. Although not technically his, you can so easily picture Hux stood on the bridge leading the First Order to victory once and for all.

The resistance vessels start pushing forward, planning an escape no doubt just as the Order begins firing on them. As soon as they seem to make a move squadrons of TIE’s begin flooding your field of vision from all the dreadnaughts. Hux wasn’t risking any delays this time, he was coming for them with everything he had. Blaster fire lights up the galaxy, snippets of radio transmission between the TIE pilots and their squadrons were playing out over the bridge, keeping you constantly updated on the progress of the attack.

“There’s no fixed point to their navigation… they’re just trying to get out of range for now” you comment after analysing the information infiltrated from the resistance. Kors was about to speak when a vessel comes rushing past the window, shaking the glass in its frames and making you take an unconscious step backwards as if it were about to come through the window. You tut upon realising what the ship was,

“What is it?” Kors asks somewhat flustered from the close fly-by.

“Ren” you state before pausing for a moment, “and his TIE Silencer”. Kors eyes widened at the mention of Ren. You watch the vessel fly off into the middle of the attack, he was flanked by a few other TIE’s, providing him some cover. It was the first time you’d actually seen him partake in any of the attacks. Although you had to admit he did look to be quite an adept pilot, delivering damaging blows to the resistance’s vessels. But the longer he stays out there the more reckless he appears to become. He finally sets himself up to deliver the perfect finishing blow to the bridge of the cruiser, but nothing materialises. You start feeling fidgety as the window of opportunity quickly begins to slip away but the flanking TIE’s then take matters into their own hands. Blaster fire smashes into the bridge sucking out any life in the process.

The mixture of intercom transmission that had been playing out over the bridge had started to subside as the TIE’s made steady gains on the resistance, slowly depleting their numbers. Suddenly you hear _his_ voice playing out from one of the monitors in the bridge somewhere,

“Ren, the resistance has pulled out of range, we can’t cover you at this distance, return to the fleet”.

He sounded tense, but that wasn’t too out of the ordinary for him. You knew it must have pained him to ask him back, he’d be happy to let him seal his own fate out there, it would be no great loss to the First Order. Unfortunately, allowing the Supreme Leader’s apprentice to meet his maker would do nothing in helping Hux with Snoke.

Ren’s ship and the accompanying TIE’s swiftly turn to return to the fleet, obeying Hux’s order. You watch the silencer until it was out of view, the sound of someone clearing their throat then pulls your attention.

You spin to see the old weathered face of Captain Peavy glaring back, hating every moment he had to be in your presence. Without either one of you verbally acknowledging the other,

“General Hux had requested _you_ ”, the disdain that laced his voice being particularly emphasised on the ‘you’, “accompany him on the Supremacy immediately… apparently he can’t find another adequate navigator out of the tens of thousands of officers on board”

His evident hatred for you filled you with a strange sense of achievement. Your apparent ability to piss him off so easily almost made being stuck here without Hux worthwhile. Your promotion gives you a little more freedom to piss him off without reprimand, so you immediately seize the opportunity. You lean in slightly to make sure he could hear every one of your words above the hum of activity in the bridge.

“Perhaps some of us are less dispensable than others… Captain Peavy”

You linger in place just long enough to see his face twist in disgust before turning your back to him to address Kors,

“Do you think you can handle it Kors… running the Finalizer’s navigations solo?” you ask hastily, you didn’t want to keep Hux waiting too long.

Kors looks flustered at first as she no doubt considered the weight of responsibility falling onto her, but she eventually nods back.

“Good” you smile back, “if you need anything I’ll be on the Supremacy, just contact me on my datapad”, you stretch a hand out to rest on her arm to try reassuring her. She gave you an affirmative nod before you turn to start running down to the hangar to get transport to the Supremacy.

You arrive at the hangar breathless; a pilot immediately approaches you.

“Captain L/N?”

“Yes” you reply breathlessly.

“General Hux ordered I bring you to the Supremacy, the transport is this way”

You give him a nod before following after him.

\---

Another officer was waiting to greet you in the hangar of the Supremacy to take you up to the bridge. It was the first time you had been on board the Supremacy; it was even slicker and more advanced than the Finalizer. You knew Hux had an attachment to the Finalizer but even he must have been quite willing to give it up to operate out of here.

The corridors looked much the same as the Finalizer, glossy black floors, walls and ceilings. Not a thing out of place. There was _a lot_ of officers, but for such a big ship and with the larger divisions of TIE’s and ground troops it wasn’t too surprising.

The officer takes you into a lift, pressing the button for the bridge level as soon as you entered. The lift was illuminated by white lights behind wall grates and the control panel just to the left of the doors. Your heart rate starts to pick up just at the thought of seeing him. It didn’t take the lift long to bring you to the correct level, the doors open directly into the centre of the bridge. The officer stands on the threshold before standing to attention for you. You take a step, so you’re stood just over the threshold when the doors swiftly close behind you again.

The first thing to strike you was the windows, the bridge had an almost complete 360 view, showcasing the galaxy. You take another step; you note the two armed stormtroopers stood either side of the lift. The bridge was much bigger, with far fewer workstations cluttering the space. Apart from a few lining the side walls of the bridge, 90% of the workstations were situated in the pits either side of the central walkway. Regal red tiles lined the central walkway and around the bridge, slightly different to most of the other First Order ships to signify that it was the Supreme Leader’s vessel.

You hear that all too familiar tense voice before you see him, you do another quick scan to find him stood the other side of the pits near the windows, he seemed to be having a fraught conversation with some poor male officer.

“What is the point of all this if we can’t blow up three tiny cruisers?” he yells, his hand gestures becoming more untamed with his frustrations.

You start walking across the central walkway between the pits to make ground on the two men, it was the perfect opportunity to alert him to your presence.

“Well they’re faster and lighter Sir”, both men turn to face you, Hux’s features immediately softening a fraction upon seeing you, “they can’t lose us, but they can keep at a range where our canons are ineffective against their shields”, you stop just short of the two men. You could see Hux’s body relax ever so slightly the more you explained.

“Leave us” he commands curtly to the other officer never taking his eyes off of you. The officer pauses a moment, flickering his attention between you and Hux, captive in the other’s gaze, before finally understanding Hux was referring to him. He didn’t hang around to be told twice, likely relieved to be escaping the interaction. You take another step to stand directly in front of him.

“Know it all” he whispers just loud enough for you to hear. His tone made the comment come across as an insult, but you knew it was meant playfully. You’d always had a somewhat competitive relationship in the Academy, a game to try outdoing the other.

“Well…”, you lean in a fraction more, “that was why _I_ was always the favourite in the Academy” you match his tone with a mischievous smile.

Hux holds your gaze, a silent snort escaping his nose as his lips flickered upwards for a split second. He was just about to fire back some retort when a small group of officers walk past, he stops himself just in time to not be overheard. He leans back from you and clears his throat, breaking the brief moment of intimacy between you,

“Captain L/N” he says deadpan.

“General Hux” you counter.

“Well… we’ll keep up the barrage”, Hux turns away to walk towards the window to survey the scene playing out below him, you follow to stand beside him, “lets at least remind them that we’re still here”, he canters his head towards you but keeps his eyes firmly fixed on the resistance below.

“Very good Sir”

Hux takes another small step towards the glass, his tone fuelled by determination again. “They won’t last long burning fuel like this… it’s just a matter of time”

His determination felt all powerful to you, it was evident to anyone how long he had waited for this time. And how much he deserved it. Others always seemed to want to doubt him, make him out as weak when they questioned his right to be a General after his father, after Starkiller. But they didn’t know anything. The longer you look at him the more you think he could never be described as weak; he was just patient. Carefully and quietly planning the right time to strike, finding and devising any means possible to get the task done. And in that moment you realise you would do whatever it took to help get what he wanted.

“I’ll get a hologram up so we can track the state of their vessels. I’ll work on intercepting their navigations too… we don’t want any of them thinking they can escape”

“Very good Captain L/N”

You commandeer one of the empty workstations off to the side where there seemed to be fewer officers. You immediately bring up a hologram of the resistance vessels, adding extra information on their fuel and shield levels to keep them closely monitored. You then set about trying to intercept their navigation equipment, it appeared as though they had no set course other than forwards to keep out of range. The only thing of note up ahead on the maps was a planet, Crait. You recognise the name; it was a mineral planet that once held a secret outpost for rebel groups. It could in theory still have some resources for them though you doubted it would be anything to mount a substantial attack on the Order.

There was a high pitched repeating beep coming from the monitor. One of the resistance’s vessels had begun to slow dramatically. You head towards the hologram in the middle of the bridge. A small projected vessel once illuminated blue was flashing red as it slowed relative to the other vessels.

“The main cruiser is still remaining beyond range…”, Hux walks over from the window towards you and the hologram, “but their medical frigger is out of fuel and it’s shields are down” you inform him.

“The beginning of their end”, he takes a step closer to the hologram, “destroy it” he commands.

Hux swiftly returns to the window as blaster fire rains down on the vessel until it was completely engulfed in flames, nothing more than shrapnel descending into space. You see his hands clenched behind his back as you approach from behind to join in watching the destruction unfold.

“Just like dominoes” he muses to himself.

You look at him, his shoulders were pushed back and broad. His chest looked puffed out and his side profile perfectly displayed his determination. His demeaner was darker, more focussed than ever. It was as if he was radiating an intense almost consuming energy, and it was contagious. You could practically feel his excitement and how long he had wanted this. And now you want it just as much as him. Or maybe just him. You can feel yourself getting distracted by him and you didn’t want anything to get in the way of Hux getting what he wanted today. You move to return to the workstation,

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asks almost incredulously.

You half turn round to see his back facing you as he continued looking out of the window,

“Continue monitoring the resistance… Sir”, you see his fists clench again behind his back for some reason. He turns his head just enough for you to see the outline of his features and his pierced lips as he gives you a single nod.

You sit at the workstation when the monitor alerts you to an interception made by the equipment, some kind of unidentified vessel.

“Sir, I’m picking up an unidentified capsule heading straight for the Supremacy. It looks to only be capable of carrying a single occupant, no weapons and no significant shielding” you call over. Hux quickly makes his way over to you with long heavy strides.

He places his gloved hands either side of you on the workstation as he presses the front of his body into your back. His face hovers in the space between your neck and shoulder as he studies the monitor, your cheeks just a fraction apart, you can feel his breath rolling over the little exposed skin of your neck. Your eyes widen and your body stiffens at the sudden close contact, there were other officers all over the bridge, but he must have felt it looked just innocent enough to not arouse suspicion. After a brief moment you feel his eyes flicker onto you, 

“Call me Sir again” he whispers into your ear. His breath tickles your skin and his words send a shudder through you.

“Sir?” you accidently address him again in a fluster to question his request, you genuinely didn’t mean to, but it was habit at this point, you hear him huff into your ear at your mistake. “Sir” you try again but in a more serious tone, “shall we shoot it down?”

Hux returns to standing, drawing in a deep breath through his nose,

“No, get some TIE’s to escort it into the hangar. Let’s at least see what is on board”

“Yes” you reply, making a conscious decision not to use the ‘sir’ as you face the monitor again. There’s a pause before he takes a step to your side, entering your periphery. You look up, he responds by raising his eyebrows,

“Yes what?” he quips. He was enjoying this. You let out a breath through your nose, rolling your eyes,

“Yes Sir” you draw out smoothly, seductively, as you try playing him at his own game. He sucks in his lower lip before pushing his shoulders back.

“Don’t tempt me L/N” he says darkly. You didn’t know what he was referring to but whatever it was, based on the expression on his face and the way he was acting, you most definitely _did_ want to tempt him. He was just about to walk away,

“Or what?” you ask daringly. You were unable to hide your building excitement from the interaction, a small smile spreading across your lips. Hux freezes in place before slowly turning to face you again. He stares at you for a moment, that dark consuming energy, and excitement, radiated out from him again making the atmosphere between you both feel heavy. His eyes were boring into you making your heart leap in your chest. Slowly he makes his way over to you. You were too consumed by his eyes to notice his hands curling round the armrests of your chair to abruptly pull you closer to him. The sudden movement makes you lose your balance slightly, but you have no time to recover before he was lowering himself to your eyelevel, there wasn’t much space between your faces now. You gulp as you look back into his darkened eyes,

“Don’t overexert yourself today Captain… because I intend on fucking you for hours later”. His words light up your core, the pulsing of your heart now evident in your chest and core. You want him now; you didn’t want to wait. His tone was one of warning, telling you just how serious he was being and only made his words more arousing. You rub your thighs together to relieve some of the sparks spreading across your mound. Hux eyes flicker down to your movement before coming back to you, a smug smile now looking back at you. “Something the matter?” he asks smugly.

You press your lips together; you decide not to say anything back just in case any involuntary noises escaped. You shake your head desperately back at him.

“General Hux?”, Hux’s personal officer was now standing a couple of paces behind him. Thankfully his body was concealing your face allowing you some time to try recomposing yourself. After a moment Hux pushes himself up from the armrests on your chair to speak with the officer. You quickly spin back to the workstation to try getting your head back into work mode. But your arousal was hard to shrug off when you could still see and hear him, only he could ever put you in such a state and he knew it.

You receive a message on your datapad, sent to both you and Hux, to update you that the unidentified vessel was carrying the scavenger. Ren had taken her prisoner and was escorting her to Snoke presently. You roll your eyes at the message.

Hux was still close, still receiving some kind of update on the fleet from his personal officer. Your monitor starts showing a change in the resistance,

“I’m picking up increased activity from their navigations equipment, not coming from the cruiser but something smaller, lots of them. They might be trying to escape down to the mineral planet”, you look up to him to receive his reaction. Before he had time to react,

“They’re just trying to pull our attention” Phasma interrupts. She plants her unusually tall frame between where Hux was stood and where you were sat.

“But Captain I really think we should at least-”

“L/N” she cuts you off, she obviously wasn’t used to having anyone question her methods. You feel embarrassed, other officers look round to watch the situation unfold. “You may be a Captain now but make no mistake, you are very much inferior to me. It would be wise to remember your place”. Her voice was perfectly controlled and measured which somehow only made the interaction more intense, there was absolutely no evidence of emotion driving her actions. You, on the other hand, could feel the blush rapidly creeping up your cheeks. You quickly scan the area; other officers were still staring at you. You gulp before nodding at Phasma, your movements small and timid, which you hated yourself for. Hux just stands there not interjecting at all, which when you think logically you can’t blame him for but a less logical side of you wants him to step in to defend you.

“Captain Phasma” a stormtrooper interrupts. Phasma turns to face the individual, “we have a situation developing in one of the databanks”

“Excuse me General” she says before following the stormtrooper off of the bridge.

You immediately turn back to face your monitor, not wanting anyone to see your red face longer than absolutely necessary. You can feel your pulse below your skin from where you were so tense throughout the interaction with Phasma. You note Hux in your periphery for a few more moments, you couldn’t bear to look at him with the evidence of your embarrassment still evident in the red of your cheeks, but he eventually heads back to the centre of the bridge, deciding it was best to give you some space for the time being. He was right to do so. You go back to monitoring the resistance, you were still firm in your suspicions that the resistance was up to something. The only thing you could do for now was to continue monitoring them, looking for firmer evidence of your theory. The same beeping from the equipment eventually returns, alerting you to the change in pace of another resistance vessel.

You head over towards Hux who was stood by the hologram, receiving an update from another officer.

“That’s the last of their support ships. It’s just their main cruiser now”

“And their fuel reserve?”

“By my calculations… critical”

Hux looks as though he is trying to supress a smile by pressing his lips down. He lifts his head a little higher and pulls his shoulders back again, you could tell from his body language that he was feeling confident but maybe hesitant in outwardly showing it after the failed attack earlier.

“Communication from Captain Phasma Sir” an officer shouts out, Hux gives a nod back.

A projected hologram of Phasma appears in front of you both, you move to stand beside him to face the hologram head on,

“General… Captain”, you could tell from her tone that she was still pissed off by your presence, “we have captured FN-2187 and the other rebel scum. They’re being taken to Hangar 1 now”

“I’m on my way” he states as he starts making large strides through the hologram, the blue image disappears just as he passes through. After a few paces he canters his head to the side, upon seeing you weren’t there, “Captain” he calls back curtly to beckon you. He slows his pace temporarily to allow you to catch up with him. You want to smile, Phasma may doubt you but you knew he never would.


	15. Holdo Manoeuvre

You follow Hux through the lines of stormtroopers and officers all stood in formation at the order of Captain Phasma. The sound of moving cargo supplies and various ships landing and taking off echo around the vast openness of the hangar. As you clear the lines of stormtroopers into an opening you see two individuals on their knees, both in First Order uniforms. One you knew to be the traitorous stormtrooper, but the girl you didn’t know. Hux moves to stand beside Phasma in front of the individuals, you peel off to stand beside him. You pull your shoulders back like him, doing your best to look both intimidating and emotionless to the rebel prisoners. 

Hux begins to slowly walk towards the ex-stormtrooper, he was drawing out every step and savouring every moment of the interaction. For once his face was conveying everything he was thinking. His pure hatred for the man and the excitement at watching him now suffer. You knew he had some personal vendetta against the traitor from before the destruction of Starkiller, but he hadn’t elaborated much beyond that.

He remains in front of him for a while, allowing the man to squirm in anticipation of what he might do next. Without warning he brings his hand swiftly down against the cheek of the man, the sound echoes all around you.

“Well done Phasma” he quips as the ex-stormtrooper processes what had just happened, now daring to look up at Hux again.

“Your ship and payment as we agreed” Phasma states into the air at no one but another unknown male in a First Order uniform then appears.

The eyes of the ex-stormtrooper and girl bulge in their head as they look over at the man, their surprise obvious.

“You lying snake” the girl stutters before struggling against her restraints to little avail. Just from the slither of side features visible to you, you can see Hux’s enjoyment, that he had been able to cause such distress to these two rebels.

“We got caught… I cut a deal” the man replies to the girl.

“Wait… cut a deal with what?” the ex-stormtrooper asks, his concern evident on his face and in his voice.

“Sir… checked on the information from the thief. We ran a de-cloaking scan and sure enough thirty resistance transports have just launched from the cruiser” Hux’s personal officer interjects from behind you. So your theory _had_ been correct.

“He told us the truth… will wonders never cease” Hux comments in a light-hearted tone as he returns to standing between you and Phasma with a small smile. Your heart leaps for a moment at seeing _that_ smile. It wasn’t mischievous or derived from doing something bad, it was just _him_ making a light hearted comment, so genuine and ordinary from his usual fierce General persona. It was the way his features softened and the small lines that appeared beside his eyes, the way his eyes glistened just that little bit brighter. Your heart swells in your chest, you're consumed by love for him.

“Captain L/N’s theory was correct” he continues interrupting your wondering thoughts, not directing the comment at anyone but knowing it could only chastise Phasma and praise you. You desperately want to look over at Phasma for her reaction, not that you could see her face, but any change in her demeaner would do. But you keep your attention fixed on the restrained prisoners in front. Hux’s comment alone could be risky, publicly showing a form of allegiance in front of another high ranking officer would likely only arouse suspicion. Hux must have deemed the risk as acceptable to make up for earlier when he didn't defend you, you have to suppress another smile from forming.

“No” the girl whispers, pulling you from your warming thoughts of the fierce General.

“Our weapons are ready?”

“Ready and aimed Sir”

Hux nods his head, pressing his lips down to hide how much he was enjoying this. He looks directly at the pair in front of him,

“Fire at will” he says calmly but oozing with enjoyment, he didn’t want this moment to end.

“No you can’t” Finn starts as he struggles in his restraints. The girl begins shouting, nothing of any sense, just noise.

Hux tolerated the racket for all of five seconds before his face morphed into anger again.

“Execute them both!” he shouts as he starts walking away with clenched hands and swinging arms, a couple of paces in, “Captain L/N” he shouts coarsely as he slows his pace slightly, your cue to follow after him again. You hurriedly get over to him to begin walking in lock step. There’s a buzz from the datapad in your pocket which you swiftly retrieve,

“I’ve been called back to the Finalizer” you inform him as you both continue walking across the hangar.

“What?” he asks incredulously, “on who’s orders? I’m the General and I want you here with me!”

“Captain Peavey” you answer, “Kors is too inexperienced to be by herself for now. Especially if we are to pursue the Resistance down to the planet”

“I won’t have it”

You had now walked out of the hangar to a much quieter corridor. You grab his hand stopping you both in place. He looks surprised from the sudden physical contact in public, he swiftly looks over your shoulder and behind him to make sure no one was watching, but you had already made sure it was safe.

“It’s for the best Armi”, you start calmly as his eyes come to rest on yours, “it’s important now more than ever that every vessel has experienced officers”. He lets out a long breath, signalling that he knew you were right. “Plus you wouldn’t want your precious Finalizer to succumb to any damage would you” you try joking, referring back to how possessive he had been to the ship. He huffs at your attempt at humour.

“I couldn’t stop you even if I wanted to could I?” he asks in defeat.

“Probably not” you smile up at him.

He mirrors your smile for a moment before grabbing your waist to tip you down and clash his lips with yours, he quite literally takes your breath away. You bring a hand up to hold onto his back for support and place your other hand on the side of his face. His love was rushing out into you with every small but deliberate movement of his tongue and lips. Too quickly he swings you back up to full height again, you have to blink several times to bring yourself back to reality. He laces his fingers with yours,

“Be careful” he says softly but somehow sternly at the same time, “I love you” he loses the sternness now as he kisses you on the forehead.

“I love you too” you squeeze his hands a little tighter in yours.

Begrudgingly you pull away and start walking back into the hangar to find transport to take you back to the Finalizer. You were already starting to regret your decision to be apart from him, but you knew it would be for the best. The sooner the Resistance were destroyed the sooner you would see him again.

\---

You hadn’t been back on the bridge of the Finalizer for long, you were just checking the navigations and readying the coordinates for Crait.

“Captain L/N”

You turn to see Mitaka’s ghostly white face staring back at you, it felt like an eternity since you had a conversation with him or been face to face with him even. Things had gotten awkward of late and now wasn’t exactly the time to be addressing it. You simply raise your eyebrows at him,

“A word?” he enquires somewhat ominously angling his body towards the exit of the bridge. _Gods, now? Really?_ You were so close to finishing the Resistance for good, their final cruiser could fall into range at any moment and you had transports to chase down to the planet. Mitaka can obviously see your annoyance at what you think he wants to talk about,

“Captain Peavy” he starts before pausing, almost like he was scared or apprehensive to talk to you, “The TIE operation room needs urgent assistance with some navigation equipment” he continues. It seemed to be a reasonable reason to take you away from the bridge. You give him a quick nod before turning to Kors,

“I’ll be back in a moment” you inform her hastily. You didn’t want to be away from the main action for too long, or with Mitaka for longer than absolutely necessary.

Mitaka was already marching across the bridge towards the exit, you follow noting Peavy staring you down from the central walkway of the bridge as you walk. He looked smug, like he knew something you didn’t. You decide to shoot him a sarcastic smile.

The TIE operation room was just down the corridor from the bridge. It was where other officers would keep in continuous contact with the TIE pilots, informing them on where the enemy was, their fuel levels, where there may be additional risks or advantages in battle. The main information was always fed through the bridge too, but this is where the TIE squadrons were directed from. You’d never actually been in there during battle, you imagine it must be quite a hive of activity. They must have a serious technical issue too because the officers were usually more than adept in fixing any navigational issues. Just as you picture what scene you could be walking into you are abruptly pulled back to the present when a hand grips your arm tightly to pull you into a dark room.

You stumble into the space, just about able to keep your balance. The first thing you see is Mitaka closing and locking the door he had just pulled you through.

“What do you think you’re doing?” you snarl at his back as he secures the door. You were tired of this kind of bullshit. It wasn’t supposed to happen now you were a Captain, you outranked him for god’s sake. Mitaka stays where he is, back turned to you, you notice the rise and fall of his shoulders. “Mitaka?” you question, tone still venomous. When there was still no response you sigh heavily turning to inspect your surroundings.

He’d pulled you into an older operation room. There are banks of monitors and workspaces covered in dust. A large window consumes the back wall of the room, the glow of stars and other Imperial vessels just about lighting the room along with the dull lights from control panels scattered around the space. The room had just as good a view as the bridge, you could see the last Resistance cruiser in the distance, some of the other Imperial vessels that surrounded you and if you got a bit closer probably the Supremacy too. From your quick inspection there looked to be only one way in and one way out.

You return to Mitaka,

“Mitaka you said they needed urgent assistance; we need to go n-”

“I know about you and him” he finally interrupts you. His tone was barely a whisper as if it pained him to say it. His comment takes you off guard, it was the last thing you were expecting right now. His comment is enough to make your heart race in your chest, panic quickly filling your veins. He could only be referring to one thing but you couldn't be completely sure of what he did and didn't know. You have no other tactic in the moment but to play dumb,

“Me and who?” you ask, trying to make yourself sound as innocent as possible. Mitaka finally turns to face you, his ghostly complexion only emphasised by the dull white light from outside the window. He stares at you, features tense for a moment before tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling. You can’t be sure, but it looked as if he was smiling.

“Please…”, he starts, dropping his head back down to look directly at you, “Don’t insult my intelligence L/N… you and Hux”. There’s a silent pause at the mention of the General’s name. Your heart starts racing even quicker, surely close to giving out completely by now. You try desperately to keep your blind panic concealed to him. Mitaka starts to slowly move away from the door, his eyes fixed firmly on you the whole time, no doubt looking for any sign of admission. As he moves further into the room you take a couple of steps towards the door, the two of you almost circling one another.

“I really don’t know what you are talking about Mitaka”. You pause before daring to take a couple of bigger steps towards the exit, “but we have to go, in case it escaped your attention we’re in the middle of an attack!”

“Take one more step and I will make sure everyone knows”. His words had the same effect as the force itself to stop you dead in your tracks. You let out a shaky breath before slowly turning to face him. Your hesitation alone was an admission of guilt, you’d been caught, and he knew it. When you meet eyes again he scoffs at you, “I thought that’d get your attention”.

It starts to dawn on you that you probably wouldn’t be able to lie your way out of this situation. You quickly decide the next plan of action being to appeal to Mitaka’s nicer side, the side he had shown you as an ally, a friend, within the Order. You walk over to him, just a pace between the two of you now,

“Mitaka… please”, you plead, you hate how weak you sound, your voice cracking a little more with every syllable. Mitaka’s face was like stone, completely expressionless,

“End it with him and then leave… for your own good L/N… or someone else will end it”, he enunciated every word with pure venom, you’d never seen Mitaka display such hatred, not even towards the Resistance. It was like he was a different person; you didn’t recognise the man in front of you.

You turn your attention to the floor swallowing down the bile that had been steadly rising up your throat, you feel sick to the bone. You couldn’t end it, you couldn’t ever lose him again but if other high ranking officers were to find out it would surely mean death, at best for you, and a life not worth living for Hux.

A horrible realisation begins to dawn on you, it wasn't all that dissimilar from the situation Hux was in with his father. Either seperate with the prospect of never seeing them again or lose the one you love completely. Mitaka must have been able to see you inner conflict and decides to twist the knife in a bit further,

“Something tells me Commander Ren would be interested in knowing what the General gets up to in his spare time… and Snoke maybe… as a General his attentions should be on the First Order alone, should they not?”, with the mention of Snoke you snap your head back up to meet his face again.

“Why are you doing this?”, your tone now becoming less controlled as you allow your building emotions to exaggerate your words, “You’re supposed to be my friend”, you hit his shoulder forcing him to take a step back to steady his balance. Mitaka lets out a long breath through his nose as he recomposes his balance,

“You can do better L/N”

“What? Like you?” you scoff back with a sarcastic smile. You can immediately see how your words hurt him, the insinuation that you would never dream of being with him like that. He quickly recomposes himself,

“He makes you weak… being associated with him only puts a target on your back”

“I’m doing just fine Mitaka! In case my uniform isn’t clear”, you raise an arm to emphasise the new rank emblazoned on your sleeve, “I outrank you!”

“He got you that promotion” Mitaka sneers back as his face scrunches in disgust.

“No! No, I’ve worked for everything I’ve ever got in my life. And you-”, you take a step forward bringing a finger up to his face, “you know that because you were my friend”. You can feel a film of tears covering your eyes now. Mitaka rolls his eyes, apparently growing bored at how long the interaction was playing out.

“What’s it going to be L/N? Are you ending it with him or not?”

You look to the floor for answers again. You weren’t as strong as Hux was, you couldn’t bare the thought of not having him. You knew what it was like to be without him and you couldn’t go back, not now you had him again. Maybe it was selfish and reckless, but the alternative just wasn’t an option now.

“I’m not losing him” you say quietly with a slight shake of your head, you slowly lift your eyes in defeat.

Mitaka’s face was still stern but there’s a momentary flicker where he lets his disappointment peek through. He starts nodding his head in understanding.

“Fine… I’ll be sure to let Ren and Snoke know that…”, he pauses a moment before scoffing to himself, “though I doubt either of them will be able to inflict as much misery as his own father did before”

The mention of Ren and Snoke fills your entire body with dread, you begin to wonder if you would even see him again before you are inevitably ripped apart again. The more you ponder on Mitaka’s words you start to fixate on the mention of his father, the comment was odd. You narrow your eyes at Mitaka as your mind starts going into overdrive at the mention of Brendol Hux,

“How do you know about his father?” you ask quietly, more to yourself than him. After a few moments the pieces _finally_ start to fit together.

“Oh my god”, you whisper bringing a hand up to cover your open mouth as you start taking small steps backwards. “It was you”.

You can see from Mitaka’s face that he already knew exactly what you were referring to but for now he was going to play ignorant,

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” he says dismissively as he begins turning towards the door.

“It was. It was you”, Mitaka stops again, you start nodding your head even more firmly the more convinced you became of your theory, “he said he never knew how his father found out about us. And you achieved your promotion at such a young age…” you trail off as you slowly lift your gaze to his again for some sort of reaction. He remains expressionless for a few more moments before finally cracking,

“Fine”, he spits, “since you’ve clearly made your choice now, you may as well know”.

“Oh my god” you repeat at his almost admission.

“It was me who informed his father, I did my duty as an officer to serve my superior”

“Your duty” you repeat his words back to him with a tone of contempt. Your eyes begin scanning the ground, moving frantically in their eye sockets.

“I didn’t even know you back then Mitaka, we first met when I was moved to the Finalizer”

“It was nothing to do with you back then L/N, it’s not always been all about you” he hisses.

His comment takes you aback, you don't immediately counter him. A pause begins to draw out between the two of you.

“I have to say, I really didn’t think informing Brendol would be quite so dramatic in its consequence” he smiled, a little too pleased with himself.

“He was going to have me killed Mitaka!”, you splutter out cantering your whole body towards him, “Hux saved me by having me sent away... it was you who signed my death warrent”

“Like I said” he starts firmly and loudly to counter your increasingly uncontrolled tone and take charge of the interaction again. “I was doing my duty in serving a superior and was rewarded accordingly”.

There was something about his demeanour, you couldn’t put your finger on it, that told you that wasn’t quite the whole story.

“Your pathetic little General doesn’t even realise he did me a favour by killing his father” he starts laughing to himself. “He’s just as weak-willed as his daddy was” he draws out slowly.

You see red, not fully comprehending all his words, you only hear the way he completely disregarded the man you loved, the man who risked everything to save you. He was the furthest thing possible from being ‘pathetic’. And nothing like his father.

Without thinking too much you quickly pull out your blaster from you belt, extending your arms out in front of you, aiming at Mitaka with steady hands. Mitaka looks somewhat surprised, taking a step back.

“Really L/N” he asks with a sneer; he didn’t believe the conviction that drove you to pull your blaster on him.

“Really Mitaka” you repeat his words back to him but dripping with determination. “He’s nothing like his father”, you re-affirm your aim, your finger beginning to press down. You were going to do this. You were doing it to protect Hux.

You apply more pressure to the trigger when a blinding white light suddenly appears from the window, pulling both your attentions. The bright light fills the window and burns your eyes. The next thing you know there is a piercing high pitched noise penetrating the air and cutting through the bright light. Almost immediately the control room shakes violently before a wall of pure energy from an explosion throws you and Mitaka across the room to the floor. You lose consciousness.


	16. Blood Ties

Hux P.O.V

Hux's eyes widen and the breath in his lungs becomes trapped as he realises what the Resistance cruiser ahead of him was planning to do. In the blink of an eye there was a deafening noise as metal twisted and glass shattered all around him. Hux is thrown to the ground from the impact, the Supremacy had been hit. After a brief moment on the floor he caught his breath again and immediately scanned the bridge to survey the damage. All the other officers had been thrown to the floor too, everyone looked confused as they slowly regained their senses. The bridge looked to have mainly sustained superficial damage, the main windows had remained intact but there were sparks flying from control panels, glass panels shattered and parts of the ceiling had given way.

Hux's thoughts quickly turn to Y/N and his heart starts racing as he remembers she wasn't even on the same ship. He pats the pockets of his coat but he couldn’t locate his datapad. He had no way of contacting her, of making sure she was okay or knowing if she was even alive. Hurriedly, he clammers to get up off the floor to run over towards the windows. He looks as far as the angle would allow to survey the damage to the other Imperial vessels. Every single one had been hit somewhere. The same red glowing cracks now ran through his fleet and were no doubt hemorrhaging officers. The chances of Y/N being on a ship that had not been hit were slim to none. He swallows as his mind starts racing towards the worst thing that could have happened to her. He takes a breath, rushing to remind himself, or maybe it was delusion considering the dire state of the fleet in front of him, that she was one of the most skilled officers in the Order. She would know how to keep herself safe. But he still needed to get to her. In the chaos and confusion of all the other officers Hux runs out of the bridge, jumping and swerving the bodies littering the floor to get down to the hangars. Technically he should have been making his way to the Supreme Leader after such an attack but the fate of the First Order was the last thing on his mind in the face of losing Y/N.

As he gets closer to the hangars there are more officers also running around. Hux didn't have time to register the expressions on their faces or the injuries they had sustained as he barged them out of his way. A couple of them looked as though they wanted to address him , probably ask him what they should be doing but thought better of it when they saw the way he was moving through the corridors. When he finally reached the closest hangar he was gasping for breath but he never stopped moving out of fear that a split second could make the difference in reaching her.

The hangar was a mess, the difference was immeasurable compared to the last time he had been there with Y/N, Phasma and the rebel prisoners. There were small fires everywhere and large parts of the floor were either covered with rubble from the ceiling and damaged vessels or had large chasms. In the distance something catches his eye. It was Phasma, though her usually shining armour was now dulled by dark carbon smeared across it. She was fighting the traitor. For a moment he pauses to consider helping her out but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Hux thought he might have felt more guilt at the neglect of his duties in helping Phasma but at this point he really didn’t care about anything other than finding her. He continues scanning the hangar until he pinpoints a transport that was not on fire. Hux swiftly reaches the transport, bounding up the ramp with great momentum.

"Take me to the Finalizer" he shouts to the pilot.

"But-" 

"NOW!" he cuts off the pilot. The pilot quickly repoisitions himself in his seat before fiddling with some controls to start up the engine. Hux takes a firm grip of a hand hold, opting to stay in the doorway of the vessel.

As the transport exits the hangar and travels through the First Order fleet towards the Finalizer Hux is able to better survey the damage sustained to his fleet. A mixture of fear and anger begins to course through him at what he sees. He hated the Resistance for what they had done and how easy it had been to do but overriding all of that was the almost sickening fear he felt for what might of happened to Y/N. No matter how many times he tried telling himself that she was smart and that she'd be okay he couldn't help but keep falling into that same dark hole, that she was gone.

The transport soon comes up on the Finalizer, much like the rest of the fleet it had cracks running through the entire ship, splitting off in multiple directions. The transport enters the hangar, it didn't appear to have sustained quite as much damage as the Supremacy but it was still a mess. There were TIE's thrown across the hangar, piled high on other transports. There were a few officer's running between the different ships lying on their sides, but not many. The absence of so many officers was not a good indicator of the survival rate on board. 

Before the transport had even landed in the hangar of the Finalizer Hux was jumping out, running as soon as his boots made contact with the floor. He stops as he makes it out of the hangar. It was such a massive ship, she could quite literally be anywhere. Hux lets out a breath as he thinks, she would have been on the bridge when it happened so that's where he'd start. With his destination now set he rushes to the bank of lifts to hastily select the level he needs.

The journey in the lift felt like an eternity despite the almost lightspeed pace he knew the lifts could travel at. When the doors do finally open Hux is greeted by a deserted corridor. An alarm is blaring over and over, echoing through the length of the corridors. The corridor was eerily quiet despite the repetitive droning of the alarm. There were no officers, no shouting in the distance, no movement, it was just still. A stillness that seemed to sit heavy on Hux's shoulders. As Hux cautiously makes his way further into the corridor he notes the small fires littered across the ground and sparks flying from the live wires hanging out of the ceiling. With each step he took something about the lack of activity in the corridor told him the situation was bad. As his instincts started to get the better of him, Hux’s steps became larger until he was running at full pace towards the archway of the Finalizer's bridge. 

What greeted him was not an archway but a sealed door. His first reaction is to start wildly banging on the door with his fists and shouting Y/N's name. When he receives no response he turns his attention to the small control pad directly adjacent to the sealed door. What he sees shatters his heart into a million pieces.

**Bridge sealed: Airlock compromised.**

Hux suddenly couldn't catch his breath, it was as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of his lungs. He continues staring at those four fateful words until his vision begins to blur, the words on the control panel quickly becoming unfocussed blobs. Hux is completely numb, he doesn't feel anything as he falls to his knees in front of the sealed door. The only thing he is able to focus on, the only thing he can feel, is complete all-consuming grief. His mouth drops open the more those words continue echoing around his head, tears quickly form in the corner of his eyes.

She was gone.

The love of his life, _the only love in his life_ , was gone. Hux couldn’t comprehend that they were no longer part of the same world, that they were forever separated. They had both known it was a possibility, working for the First Order, but Hux really hadn’t given it much thought beyond the context of a hypothetical situation. 

He recalls the last time he saw her, those final stolen moments in the corridor. _He should never have let her go_. He becomes fixated on the final interaction, the last image he had of her playing over and over in his head. Her gorgeous infectious smile as she convinced him why she was right to return to the Finalizer. The sweet smell of her hair and skin, the smell that never failed in making him feel like he was home, that he always had somewhere where he could belong. _He should never have let her go_. And the way she felt against him. They had always fit so perfectly together, as if they were made for one another. He recalls that last kiss, his hands gripped around her waist and his lips pushed against her softer ones. There had been so little time since that interaction the memory alone tricks his senses into still being able to feel and taste her against him. _He should never have let her go, should never have let her go, never have let her go._

Hux's thoughts quickly spiral. If only he had made her stay there with him. If only he would have said no. She would still be here, alive. Hux's main emotion turns to anger towards himself. He was a failure. He had failed in keeping the only thing that had truly mattered to him safe. All the people who had doubted him over the years were right, he had proven them correct, he was in fact weak and pathetic.

He starts banging his fists against the door again. The force in which his fists meet the metal become greater and greater with each hit but he couldn't feel the pain that should have accompanied the action. In this moment not even the pain of a lightsaber could surpass the pain he felt at losing her. Still banging against the door he begins to yell, not words or anything of coherence, all he could get out was incomprehensible noise at the fresh pain that consumed his every fibre.

The more he fixates on Y/N the more his mind starts to play tricks on him. _What if the control panel was wrong? What if she was alive on the other side of the door? What if she was injured and needed his help?_ Hux quickly becomes obsessed with the idea of getting the door open so he could get into the bridge. Despite the tricks his mind was playing on him, a part of him already knew certain death awaited him on the other side, but he also didn't care. He tries pulling at the central crack where the door joined with no success. He quickly gives up, choosing instead to focus on the control panel. He stands to try exiting the screen, to find a way to open the door, but the screen doesn't change. It wouldn't, it was a safety feature that ensured the rest of the ship was not compromised. Hux's anger at himself and the situation spills over again as he realises that he can't even open the door so he could die. He begins throwing his balled fists into the metal again until the sustained force quickly drains him of energy. His punches eventually slow until he was just pressing his hands splayed against the metal. He begins to sob.

Hux slowly drops to the floor again, his hands sliding down the door as he descends, never breaking contact with the metal. He presses himself against the door, his cheek flush with the cold metal, as if it brought him closer to her. He imagines Y/N on the other side of the door doing the same thing, the side of her cheek and hand pressed against the sealed door. It gave him a brief moment of comfort to imagine it was just a piece of metal separating them instead of life itself. 

His sobs become quieter but heavy. He didn't have the energy to cry or lash out any more. The only thing he could do was grieve, his sobs the only thing left of his entire being. Without her he was nothing. He allows his eyes to leave the metal of the door for a moment to look down the corridor. As he looks at the damage and the alarm fades back into his central consciousness again he realises there was absolutely no point to any of it without her. The battle was far from over, it had only just begun. He should be commanding a fleet now but here he was, sitting on the floor crying. If only his enemies could see him now. He considered staying, allowing the quickly failing Finalizer to claim his life too. He also considered picking himself up, heading directly into the heart of battle and making the whole galaxy pay for her death.

He was torn. The more he flickered between each option the more frustrated he becomes at himself. He couldn’t even make a simple decision, just another reason as to why he was weak and pathetic. Y/N would know what to do. He turns his back to the door, trying to hide the shame he was feeling from the imaginary form of Y/N he had created on the other side of the door. He drops his head into his hands. His hands muffle the noise of his sobs just enough to hear something else in the distance. A shout of some kind echoes down the corridor which surprised him enough to lift his head again. He had assumed the eerie quietness and the sealed doors had meant everyone had either died or fled. The all too familiar sound of a blaster then fills the air. Hux stands now, sniffing up the tears and mucus before wiping his face with the sleeve of his coat. A blaster being fired meant there was some form of life at least but whether it was friend or foe was unknown.

YOUR P.O.V.

The first thing you register is the sound of an alarm repeating over and over. You hadn’t heard it regularly but you were pretty sure it was the one alerting officers to a breach in the airlock. You try swallowing but your mouth and throat were bone dry. You start to slowly blink your eyes open, there is black ash falling all around you. You try pushing yourself up off the ground to better scan your surroundings. Now sat up you see broken shards of metal splayed across the floor, wiring was thrown from all directions from a new hole in one of the side walls. Confusion was your overriding thought. You remember a bright light but that was it. You scan over your body for injuries, there was nothing immediately life threatening just superficial cuts and grazes over your legs and hands, your new coat seemed to protect your body for the large part. 

You move to stand but as soon as you put weight on your left leg you realise something is very wrong. A stinging pain rushes up the length of your leg causing you to wince and cower back down in pain. You investigate your leg again but this time find a piece of metal shrapnel embedded in the back of your calf, it was bad. You could still just about move on it, _just_ . You move towards the large window, dragging your leg behind you and wincing with every movement. You need answers, what could have hit the ship with such force? What you see out of the window causes you to audibly gasp. All of the First Order ships were severed with large sections of their body falling and descending into space. The Resistance were on their knees, only a handful left, how could they have done this?! Your mind quickly turns to Hux. _Was he okay?_ You couldn’t quite see the Supremacy out of the window but the chances of it not being hit like the rest of the vessels was minimal. You already knew you had to find him immediately. As you turn to find a way out of the room an image of Mitaka is suddenly projected in your mind, you soon remember what you were doing in the room before the bright light. Your heart starts to race as parts of the interaction play in your mind, you had been about to kill him. So surely he was out to kill you now. You quickly scan the room again now looking for the man, faint orange light illuminates sections of the room from the fires but you couldn’t see him. He’d have to be in here surely. You register your gun lying on the floor, you quickly move to pick it up, something told you it wouldn’t be as easy as Mitaka simply dying from the impact.

The door you had entered the room through was now completely blocked by the metal beams that had fallen through the ceiling, there was no point in even attempting to get through. The only way out now was through the newly created hole in the wall. You take a moment to take in a deep breath before lifting your blaster in your hands, ready and aimed for whatever laid ahead. 

You move slowly, careful to make as little noise as possible in case it alerts him to you. It was deathly quiet, only the repetitive droning of the alarm in the background filled the air. As you pass through the hole in the wall the sound of the alarm grows marginally louder, you must be getting close to some kind of exit point back into the corridors. 

This room was darker, only one small fire created a soft glow but everything else seemed to be darker than dark. The thought of what lay in the shadows makes your heart race, you were exposed. You needed to get out quick. The sound of your quickening breaths seems to grow louder and louder as your fear quickly climbs. Something suddenly catches your attention, a slither light coming from a cracked door. Your quickening breaths fall away into one large exhale as you hastily make your way across the dark room, not being so careful in staying quiet now. You grab hold of the door handle,

“Where do you think you’re going Y/N?”

Mitaka’s voice was calm, disturbingly calm. You quickly turn, blaster aimed to find where the voice was coming from but the room was so dark you couldn’t see anything. Your heart had immediately sunk at the sound of his voice, you were so close, so close to getting out of there. Your eyes are soon covered by a film of tears as you frantically point your blaster in all directions of the dark room. A dark form then moves closer into the soft illuminations of the small fire.

“We’re not done” he states coldly, there was no emotion in his voice. 

He moved closer again, the flickering orange glow now fell on his face. He had a massive gash on the side of his head that covered most of his face in blood. The flickering of the fire keeps catching Mitaka's face at different angles, exposing more of his expression. His eyes seem enlarged, practically bulging out of his skull. His fixed wide stare only emphasise the contrast between the deep red that coveres his face and the bright white of his eyes. He looked crazed, deranged, and terrifying. Your eyes eventually find the outstretched blaster he was holding. You gulp. You try reaffirming your own aim in an attempt to show him you weren’t scared but it didn't seem to work, Mitaka must have known you were rattled.

Despite the blaster you held, the situation had you frozen, you couldn’t move to even pull the trigger. You feel as though your mind was working against you, not long ago you had been about to pull the trigger on him but now there was some block between your mind and body. It was as though your mind couldn't yet work out that the man in front of you was not the Mitaka you called a friend, he was something else altogether. You feel weak, pathetic, that this was how you were going to go. It wasn’t how you thought you’d die, at the hands of a man you used to call a friend. You would have preferred to die fighting for what you believed in, that used to be the First Order, but now the only thing you believed in was Armitage. Just the split second thought of him, the name he never shared with anyone, soothes you though tears you apart at the same time. The thought of leaving him in this galaxy alone breaks your spirit.

There’s a crackle as Mitaka steps on some debris as he makes his way slowly closer to you.

“You chose this Y/N… remember that”

You see him readjust his finger on the trigger. You quickly squeeze your eyes shut, you didn't want the last thing you saw to be his face. There was only one face you wanted to see before it all ended. You hear Mitaka let out a long breath as your own quickens, any second now. 

A click.

You instinctively flinch thinking it was the end but nothing happened. You felt no pain and you were still breathing. You dare to open your eyes, Mitaka was looking confusingly at the blaster that had failed to fire. It didn’t take long for you to figure it out. He had your blaster. The one Hux had coded specifically to your fingerprints alone.

Which meant you had his. As though your body was working separately from your mind, it suddenly comes alive again to immediately pull the blaster up and fire. You hit him in the shoulder. Mitaka immediately stumbles backwards clutching at his shoulder but you don’t linger to survey the extent of the damage, instead you opt for the brighter corridor hoping to get the hell out of there.

As soon as you are in the corridor you start running, it takes you a few paces to get your speed up as the pain in your leg protests at such rapid movement. 

“Y/NNNNNNN!”

A strangled deranged scream comes from the room you had just escaped. You try quickening your pace with little success. Blaster fire suddenly hits the wall a pace to your left leaving a darkened singe. Still moving, you look over your shoulder to see Mitaka stumbling after you. You had no idea how he had managed to get another blaster but the important thing was that he had it and was now quick to use it. Attempting again to pick up your pace and keeping your eyes firmly fixed in front of you, you fling your arm back and fire blindly hoping to hit him. A few more paces and you fire again, over and over until there is nothing left. You just about hear a faint groan, hopefully you had hit him but you don’t look round to confirm in case he caught up. Your pace is quickly falling away now as the pain begins to creep in again, you start needing the wall for support. Using your free hand you practically pull yourself along it, you are almost at the corner of the corridor now, that would give you some cover.

You finally round the corridor. You are breathless and in absolute agony, the pain in your leg only now fully catching up with your pain receptors. But pain abruptly fades away into your subconscious when you look down the length of the corridor.

It was him. You let out a long breath, tears already streaming down your face.

HUX P.O.V.

She’s alive.

Hux hadn’t taken a single breath since the moment he saw the figure appear at the end of the corridor. Tears stream freely down his cheeks as he’s filled with a sense of relief and bewilderment. He doesn’t move a muscle, scared he was now imagining things, that she wasn’t really there but even more scared that if he moved the hallucination may disappear. But as the figure in front of him begins moving in his direction he realises this was no concoction of his grief-ridden mind, she really was there. He finally takes a breath, oxygen filling his lungs again, filling him with life. As his senses return to him Hux begins to feel the distance still between them intensely. He starts taking large steps in her direction, but it wasn’t closing the gap quick enough, he begins running.

YOUR P.O.V.

As Hux starts to run you try quickening your pace, anything to close the chasm that still remained between you both. You drop the blaster, now using your arms to build your momentum in getting to him.

You were both desperately running towards one another as if your lives depended on it. You were so close now.

Finally, your bodies crash into one another with the force of your shared momentum. You both immediately fling your arms around the other. You bury your face in his chest and squeeze him in as tightly as you could. You were back where you belonged.

“I thought I lost you” he whispers against you, his voice cracking with emotion. You squeeze him tighter into you again.

“You came back for me”

“Of course I did, I’d do whatever it takes to get back to you”

“Y/NNNNNNNNNNN!”

Mitaka. He was still alive. His voice was more deranged than ever. You were suddenly brought crashing back down to reality. You and Hux pull away slightly, still in each other's arms, to face the source of the noise.

“What the hell was that?” Hux asks with a downturn of his eyebrows. You turn in his arms to face him,

“Mitaka” you say quietly, the weight of your tone clearly indicates something deeper to Hux. “He knows about us-”

“Y/N!”, Mitaka interrupts you mid sentence with another crazed yell but he hasn't yet turned the corner. You rush to fill Hux in as quickly as possible.

“He was threatening to tell Snoke and Ren about us if I didn’t end it and…” despite your rushing you pause, you really didn't want to tell him this part, “and it was him who told your father about us before… it’s been him all along Armi”. 

Hux’s face was initially one of surprise but that soon twisted into anger as he was forced to remember that whole ordeal with his father and the fact that a random officer such as Mitaka had anything to do with it. As Hux was still processing the new information you hear shuffling from behind you, he must have rounded the corner now. You turn partially in Hux’s arms to confirm. Mitaka stares back at you for a moment in silence before laughing. His laugh was psychotic. Hux moves his hands to your upper arms to move you to the side as he puts himself in front of you like a shield. Mitaka was _still_ laughing. It was almost enough to drown out the sound of the alarm, which was a feat in itself.

“Ahhhh our dear General Hux has decided to join us” he finally snickers.

“Lieutenant Mitaka” Hux states back deadpan, he rests his hand on the blaster held in his belt.

“Sorry to interrupt you two love birds but I do believe I told Y/N that we weren’t done yet”, he spits as he gestures to you with his blaster. Hux moves himself in front of you a little more just to be sure you were blocked. You hold onto his back and grip his upper arm as you peek over his shoulder to Mitaka.

“Don’t you dare use her name” Hux spits back, now taking the blaster from his belt into his hands to aim at Mitaka.

“Fire at me and I kill her” he gestures to you again with his blaster as he slowly makes ground on you and Hux. He was still somehow able to move with quite some ease despite the injuries he had sustained, though a trail of red droplets followed in his wake. After a few more agonising moments of silence Mitaka snickers again,

“You were right Y/N… he’s nothing like his father… Brendol would have killed both of us by now just to prove a point”

You feel Hux tense at the very mention of that name, any comparison or reference to the man always had the same effect. But as with everything Hux did, you knew there was a reason he wasn’t immediately killing the man. He would have wanted answers, there was still more to this.

“Why?” he asks calmly, a pause, “why did you do it?”

Mitaka immediately understood what Hux was referring to. He starts laughing uncontrollably again. All you and Hux can do is watch on questioningly. Mitaka’s laughs eventually subside into a grin that remains plastered across his face.

“If there’s one thing more important than the side you fight for in this galaxy, it’s who your family is… wouldn’t you say so General?” Mitaka pauses to savour the confusion that was surely covering yours and Hux’s faces. He had never mentioned anything about his family to you, not in all the time you had known him. “Let’s just say there is more than one military family in the First Order vying for control”.

“There is no military family with the Mitaka name” Hux counters sharply.

“An insurance policy”, Mitaka looked all too pleased with himself. “It’s allowed us to slowly disable your family’s name over all these years, while you remain none the wiser.” Mitaka pauses, “I earned the trust of dear old Brendol years ago, as did my father, but neither one of you ever had a clue. I have to say, when my father told me of his plan I really didn’t anticipate how easy it would be to dismantle your family name. Your father really didn’t trust you, did he General?”, a pause, “Didn’t really like you all that much either. If anything he despised your very existence… nothing but a bastard child destined to forever bring him shame and humiliation”.

Your own anger begins to bubble ferociously below your skin at Mitaka’s words and, if it were true, how Brendol had viewed his own son.

“I probably could have just asked Brendol if I could kill you and he would have allowed it” Mitaka laughs.

“So why didn’t you?” Hux asks. The heavy determined tone of his voice immediately cut through Mitaka’s snickering. The fact that Hux seemed unphased by the comment catches Mitaka off guard.

“Simply killing you would have been to easy… the name would have lived on in infamy. _No_ . We decided instead that the name would need to be discredited, _humiliated_ , making room for another, more _capable_ family to seize control of the Order from the force users”. A pause draws out between the three of you. “And then along comes Y/N” he almost sings light heartedly with another smug smile. “The perfect opportunity to fianlly expose your family’s weakness to the Order. The one you share with your father... women. You have the same desires as he did for whores”

“Don’t-” Hux suddenly interjects angrily but he stops himself from whatever else he wants to say.

Mitaka studies him, viewing his unfinished sentence as a sign of submission.

“Pathetic” he huffs, “Your father was able to cover up his own indescretions enough so it wouldn't besmirch his reputation. But his weakness of course resulted in you... a punishment not even we could match. But yours gave us the chance to finally shine a light on how weak you and your family _really_ are”.

“That didn’t quite work out” Hux cuts in. Mitaka’s face contorts into anger with the interruption from Hux.

“No” he fires back quickly with a snarl. “I didn’t think you actually had it in you to kill him. And neither did Brendol otherwise he would have been sure to survive that encounter”. Mitaka pauses to let his insult permeate the air. “Admittedly, Brendol’s death was not part of the plan, but it didn’t matter. If anything you did us a favour… without your father around to cover up your mistakes the burden of responsibility fell squarely onto you”. Mitaka starts to smile again, “And even back then I felt sure you would drag the name through the mud all by yourself General.” Mitaka drags out each syllable just to really emphasise the discomfort he was causing Hux. “Starkiller base, traitorous stormtroopers, the Resistance forever slipping through your grasp” he laughs, “you really did do it all by yourself”.

You can feel the muscles in Hux's back and arm grow tenser with each mention of his supposed failures.

“Why now?”

Mitaka’s face turns more serious for the first time for the whole interaction. “To be quite honest with you General, I’m just really fucking tired of being a Lieutenant, taking orders from you and watching the Resistance get away over and over again due to your incompetence. You care more about matters of the heart than our enemy. _You. Are. Weak_. My family are ready for power and to finally lay claim to the galaxy”. 

“Your issue is with me, my family. Why bring Y/N into this?”

You already knew where he was trying to go with this, kill him and let you go but that was never going to happen if you had anything to do with it.

Mitaka turns his attention to you, “Y/N… well… that was a personal order from my father”.

You take a step out to the side but Hux immediately shoots his arm out to the side to stop you from moving any closer to Mitaka. 

“So has it all been a lie? All these years when I thought of you as my only ally in this place” you ask in a mixture of anger and sadness.

“I didn’t expect to actually like you Y/N. I had to convince my father that you should be given the chance to switch your allegiance first, to come to your senses and leave him to join us. I gave you the choice earlier… end it with him or have it ended… you made your choice” he finishes, his tone almost sad now.

Your mind flicks back to your previous interaction, ‘target on your back’ rings in your head, he had been warning you, trying to give you one last out. Mitaka canters his whole body towards you now, his blaster still aimed.

“As soon as I knew he was coming back I knew things would change… no matter how much you always said you hated him…” he trails off for a moment as anger returns to his face, “If you could have just given up on him then we wouldn’t be here… and I wouldn’t have to kill you”. 

“We deserve to know the true identity of our executioners… who is your father?” Hux asks.

Mitaka smiles, he looks excited to finally reveal his family, to rub in how they had been able to deceive everyone for so long.

“Captain” he pauses allowing Hux to quickly try guessing before finally putting him out of his misery, “Peavy”.

The fucking old timer. _Seriously?_ The more you think about the old man, the more it starts to make sense. He hated you so ordering your death didn't exactly come as a great surprise. This must have been what he was planning in the shadows once Hux had returned and pushed him to the side again. Your mind immediately re-plays all the times you saw Mitaka and Peavy interact, only now identifying small mannerisms and gestures that may have alluded to their familial ties. Then you think of all the time you had spent with Mitaka, he had hidden it from you the whole time, he’d been deceiving you from the very beginning. He’d already forced the separation of you and Hux by this point, the whole thing had been a lie. The level of deception Mitaka had been able to carry out surprised you. But you did know more about Mitaka’s ability as an officer and the thought of him and Peavy as leaders of the Order was laughable.

Hux huffs at the revolution.

“How is your big take over going to take place when Peavy is dead?”

Mitaka looks back at Hux confused, as do you. The tables had turned now, Hux was revelling in the confusion he was causing Mitaka.

“The bridge is gone Lieutenant… Peavy along with it, dead”

What you could see of Mitaka's complexion through all the blood turns a ghostly white at the comment. Mitaka casts his head down to the ground, his eyes flickering wildly across the floor as he processes the new information. This had not been part of their plan. Mitaka’s breathing appeared to become heavier and heavier, his shoulders rolling back with each inhale. He was a man on the edge as he pondered his future now. His great plan had unravelled. It must have just been him and Peavy, with Peavy likely the mastermind of the whole operation, pulling all the strings. As Mitaka's breathing grew faster and heavier it feels as though he was ramping up to something,as though he were teetering on the edge. As the pause between you all drew out and you and Hux continued to study Mitaka the alarms seemed to grow louder and louder.

“Aghhhhhhhhhhhhh! Will someone please shut up those damned alarms!” Mitaka yells at the floor, his shaking hands clutching at the sides of his bloodied head. The sudden noise takes you by surprise for a moment, you bring a hand up to grab onto Hux’s arm which was still outstretched in front of you. Mitaka’s voice was hoarse, he was truly testing the limits of his voice box. There’s another pause as Mitaka catches his breath again until he finally lifts his head up to you and Hux. His eyes seemed to be fixed on Hux,

“This is all your fault” he seethes baring his teeth to you both and using his blaster to point at Hux. “If it weren’t for you and your bastard family-”, Mitaka’s hand movements were becoming increasingly dramatic the more he goes on, you and Hux both cautiously eye the blaster being waved around as he talks, “So now…”, his voice goes quiet again as he considers his next actions, “Now my only option _is_ to kill you both... to complete my father's plan". 

With his final word he fires his blaster taking the one held by Hux clean out of his hand. You squeeze Hux’s arm to hold onto him, not entirely sure whether one or both of you had been hit or not. Hux in the meantime tries pushing you back with his arm so you were behind him again.

Mitaka had been slowly, almost imperceptibly, gaining ground on where you and Hux stood throughout the whole interaction. He was now only a pace or two away from you. The subsidence of Mitaka’s psychotic hyper laughs and tone to something quieter, darker, told you he was near the end of his tether, the revelation of his father's death likely tipping him over the edge. He would kill you both very soon. Hux’s outstretched arm in front of you begins to lower to find your hand, you link your fingers with his, practically grasping onto him for dear life. He squeezes your hand as if he knew the time was coming too.

The ship suddenly shudders and there’s a sound of something exploding in the distance. Throughout all of this you’d forgotten that you were actually on a ship that was quickly falling apart. You all cast your eyes to the ceiling probably having the same thought that time was running out. Your eyes meet Mitaka’s,

“Enough is enough!” he finally exclaims to you both. “This has been a long time coming” he draws his words out as he takes another step to close the final bit of space between you all. His blaster is drawn and aimed squarely at Hux for now. Your heart starts racing, this time it really was the end. You had no blaster and neither did Hux, there was no way out now. But at least you got to see him again, to hold him. You hope Mitaka completes the deed quickly, you couldn’t bare the thought of having to watch him kill the love of your life. You close your eyes, opting to focus on the feeling of Hux’s hand in yours. Hux squeezes your hand again but you feel something else too, something poking against your hand when you suddenly remember.

You discreetly bring your right hand round across your body while Mitaka was still fixed on Hux. Your mind and body were working in unison this time, no mental blocks, no freezing in place. You now knew how Mitaka had lied to you all these years, how he was more than willing to kill you and Hux. _You knew what you had to do_.

“Yes'' you state deadpan, Mitaka moves his eyes from Hux to you, “It has”, in one swift fluid motion your right hand retrieves Hux’s concealed dagger, placing your other hand on Mitaka’s shoulder you plunge the dagger into his chest. You keep your eyes locked with his, for some reason you couldn’t look away as you saw the life slowly drain out of him. There’s a loud clang as the blaster he was holding falls to the ground. You stay like this for a moment, your hand still on the dagger that was in his chest. His breathing eventually becomes more strained, he occasionally chokes on what must be blood climbing his throat.

Mitaka uses some of his quickly depleting energy to smile again, the blood that now covered the white of his teeth only making him look more haunting. He musters the last few drops of his lifeforce to lean in slightly closer to your face,

“You’re both going to die” he says quietly with a now struggling voice. “It’s... just... a... matter... of... time”. Despite the strain on his voice the way he spoke the words with such conviction, such unwavering belief, fills you with dread. You realise Mitaka's death wasn't the end, he wasn't your only enemy. You and Hux would still have to hide your feelings, living in constant fear of being discovered. You can see it in Mitaka's face, even in his final moments he was enjoying watching you make the depressing revolution. He lets out one last strangled breath before finally falling to the floor in a slump.

You still hold onto the handle of the dagger as you stare down at the lifeless body below you. Just looking at his body you could have mistaken it for being the Mitaka you thought you knew and not the sadistic man that just tried to kill you and Hux. A tear falls from your eye but you're not crying. You feel a hand on your back as Hux steps into your periphery, he leans down closer to your face.

“You can let go my love” he says softly, caringly.

Just hearing his voice snaps you out of your trance, giving you the ability to breathe again. You drop the dagger and gasp for air, quickly flinging your arms around his shoulders and burying your face in his chest. Hux responds by immediately enveloping you in his arms and nuzzles his face into your hair.

“It’s okay” he whispers softly. You nod against him but you weren't ready to untangle yourself from him quite yet. You didn’t believe him when he said it was okay, you wanted to but Mitaka’s comment had already started worming its way into your mind like a parasite.

There's an echo of a loud explosion as vibrations travel up the corridor, reminding you that you had to escape before the ship failed completely. You both pull away to look down the corridor at the same time,

“We have to go” Hux starts as he begins moving down the corridor, “I have a pilot and transport waiting for us” he continues now a couple of paces away from you. You try taking a step but the pain in your leg immediately stops you in place, it had gotten worse the longer you hadn’t been using it. Hux turns to see why you aren’t by his side, upon seeing you he is by your side again in just a couple of paces to scoop you up in his arms. He kisses your forehead before starting to run all the way back to the hangar.

\---

The state of the hangar was dire, fire and rubble were everywhere, only one transport looked capable of getting you both out of there but you’d have to be quick before the hangar gave out completely. There were lifeless bodies scattered everywhere, it was becoming clear the loss the First Order had entailed now. You see a nervous looking pilot pacing along the length of the transport, upon seeing you he runs up the ramp to start the engine up.

Hux’s heavy footsteps bound up the ramp, you’d only just got over the threshold when Hux was shouting at the pilot to get a move on and get you all out of there. He carefully untangles you from his body to sit you in one of the seats lining the wall, the care he showed you massively contrasted the way he treated everyone else he interacted with.

Just as the transport lifts up from the ground the floor of the Finalizer's hangar begins to fall away completely, slowly spreading across the hangar like a waterfall sending all of the First Order's resources into the oblivion of space. Hux takes a moment to watch. You can see it tearing him apart inside, all the work he had put in to getting the Order where it was today now crumbling away in front of his eyes. He returns his attentions to you, crouching in front of you he analyses with great detail the piece of metal still in your lower leg, he moves away to find the med kit before promptly returning.

“This is going to hurt” he says softly, his eyes showing the torture he felt at having to inflict any form of pain on you.

“Just do it” you reply through clenched teeth. He gives you a simple nod in response before returning his attention to your leg. He swiftly pulls the metal out, making you suck in a sharp breath through your teeth and scrunching your eyes shut. You hear the metal hit the floor and feel his hands quickly apply pressure to your wound. You hang on desperately to the bottom of the seat, your knuckles turning white as you tried to redirect your pain through some other action.

“Almost done” Hux updates you calmly but no less focussed.

You nod frantically back at him, your eyes still closed and hands hanging onto the seat. The pain was excruciating, you remove a hand to slam it into the side of the wall, just desperate to numb what you were feeling somehow. He was wrapping your leg quickly and tightly, although still painful you could already feel some relief begin to ease the pain away. The next thing you feel is a hand cupping your cheek, you immediately open your eyes to find his green ones looking back at you. Neither one of you says a word for a moment but you knew you were both thinking the same thing. _I love you_. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So I originally intended for this to just be a one-shot but I really enjoyed writing the dynamic between Reader and Hux and have an idea of where the story will go so I'm thinking it will be a few chapters.
> 
> Any feedback welcome! Hope you enjoy!x


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